The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed in the DjVu format at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776/co37 or http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/HD2951xC776/co37 208 CONSUMERS' COOPERATION THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER, October 22, "Religion and Distribution," Edward A. Filene. "Schenectady Cooperative Studies Burial Costs." THE CHRISTIAN LEADER, October 10. "Con- cerning Cooperatives and Private Business," Charles G. Girelius. September 26, "Building a Cooperative," James W. McKnight. October 24, "Religion and Distribution," Ed ward A. Filene. THE PRESBYTERIAN TRIBUNE, October 29, "Religion and Distribution," Edward A. Filene. THE SIGN, September, "Let's Cooperate," Law rence Lucey. THE QUEEN'S WORK, November, "Sodality Consumers Cooperatives Stop Bolting Budgets," George A. McDonald, S. J. CATHOLIC ACTION OF THE SOUTH, Octo ber 15, "Consumers' Cooperation, How It Starts," Joseph H. Fichter, S. J. THE FRONT RANK, November, "Ideals in Cans," Frances Dunlap Heron. EPWORTH HERALD. September 5, "Working for a Christian Economic Order," Dorothy Ny- land. KIPLINGER NEWS LETTER, September 26, "Talk of Consumers Cooperatives." TRADE PUBLICATIONS NATIONAL PETROLEUM NEWS, October 7, "Co-op Bulk Plants in Minnesota," E. L. Bar- ringer. SALES MANAGEMENT, October 20, "Behind that Co-op Label," Bertram B. Fowler. PRINTERS INK, October 15, "What is a Co operative?" Richard Giles. TIDE, October 1, "Co-op Coup." HARDWARE RETAILER, November, "Whole salers Condemn Government Subsidies to GO ODS," "Don't Worry Too Much About Co-ops," Editorial on Cooperative Congress. THE GASÇLINE RETAILER, October 17, "Roosevplt's Endorsement of Co-ops Alarms Station Men." I.P.A. (Independent Pharmacists Ass'n) VOICE, October, "Cooperatives—Are They Our Com petitors?" David N. Ditcher. RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT, October, "Cafeteria Principles and Practices \Vhen Oper ated by Consumers," R. T. Huntington; "The Customers Speak," Editorial—"Who Profits?" DRUG TOPICS, August 17, "Stores in Cleveland Compete with 17 Co-ops." NEWSPAPERS NEW YORK TIMES, September 30, "American Co-ops Praised by Finns." October 6, "Cooperatives Gain in Europe Noted." HERALD TRIBUNE, October 6, "Head of Eng lish Cooperatives Here to Further Tj ç terests." u> ill- October 19, News story under the column "T Week in Finance," Edward H. Collins. ' e CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, Octob "Consumers Cooperatives Target of O,v, '• Mid-West Drive." Ur9an,Zed "Cooperative Buying by Farmers Gain« n Past Decade." Uv« "Sunday Teaching, All-the-Week Need"-. port of Edward A. Filene's speech_"Rpi- ."" and Distribution." l9'011 UNITED STATES NEWS, August 24, -c sumer Co-ops: Can They Cure Economic Up" MILWAUKEE LEADER, "Workers Awaken tn Lack of Consumers Cooperatives," Irvin ? Aaron. NEW BOOKS Several important new books on the cooperative movement have been published since we last went to press. Since it is impossible to review them in this issue, we are listing below those which may be ordered now through The Cooperative League THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE YEAR BOOK- 1936, Edited by V. S. Alanne and Cecil R Crews. The latest available statistics on con sumers cooperative associations in the United States. 260 pages, paper cover, $1.00. DENMARK—THE COOPERATIVE WAY, by Frederic C. Howe. A description of the Danish cooperative movement as an alternative to Com munism and Fascism. Coward McCann, 272 pages, $2.50. CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE ADVEN. TURES, Harland J. Randall and Clay J. Dag- gett. Case studies of consumers cooperative edu cation and business organizations in Great Britain and the United States. Prepared for use in Wisconsin schools and colleges. Whitewater Press, 642 pages, $2.00. BROTHERHOOD ECONOMICS, Toyohiko Kagawa, Dr. Kagawa's Rauschenbush Lectures on "Christian Brotherhood and Economic Re- I construction." presented for the first time in book form. Harper & Brothers, 200 pages, $1.50. CO-OP, Upton Sinclair. A novel of living together. Cast in the realistic setting of a producers, "self- help" cooperative in California. Farrar and Rinehart, 426 pages, $2.50. DEMOCRACY IN DENMARK, Josephine Gold- mark and A. H. Hollman, translated by Alice 0. Brandeis. A description of the cooperatives, so- cial insurances and folk high schools in Denmark. National Home Library, 342 pages, 25c. FOLK HIGH SCHOOLS OF DENMARK, Beg- trup, Lund and Manniche. Revised edition^M^ popular volume on Danish Folk Schools. University Press, 176 pages, $1.00. INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER, a quarterly devoted to the Peoples School ment, edited by Peter Manniche, Inforl Peoples College, Elsinore, Denmark, two years. CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL ORGAN Of The Consumers' Cooperative Movement in tKe U. S. A. VOLUME XXIII January—December 1937 Published by The Cooperative League of U. S. A. 167 West 12th Street, New York City ßaivaaja Print, Fitchburg, Mass. INDEX CONSUMERS' COOPERATION PAGE Advertising and Cooperation ..................................................... 135 American Federation of Labor ............................................. 12, 28, 175 Albrecht, Arthur E. ............................................................ 48 Amalgamated Cooperative Apartments ......................................... 61, 77 American Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Association .............................. 109 American Institute of Cooperation ................................................ 124 Arnesen, Randoff ............................................................... 37 Arnold, Mary and Reed, Mabel .................................................. 164 Australia Cooperation in ......................................................... 181 Aziere, Charles B. .............................................................. 81 B Baker, Jacob ................................................................ 68, 111 Barrett, George G. ............................................................... 130 Barton, John R. ................................................................. 125 Bates, Emily C. ................................................................ 69 Barclay, Wade Crawford ....................................................... 56 Beaton, Neil S. ................................................................. 1 Benjamin, R. N. .............................................................. 73, 113 Book Club, Cooperative ........................................................ 190 Book Reviews ................................................. 14, 31, 47, 95, 111, 128 Bookkeeping for Cooperatives, A Primer of ........................................ 175 Bowen, E. R. ................................................................... 125 Bovd, Neva .................................................................... 129 British Cooperative Conaress .................................................... 106 British Cooperation and Stateism ................................................. 147 British Labor Movement ......................................................... 24 Broadcasting Cooperation ............................................. 29, 91, 146, 160 Brown, Martin W. ............................................................. 137 Builder, The ................................................................... 46 Bureau of Cooperative Medicine .................................................. 127 Burial Cooperatives ............................................................. 104 C California, Cooperation in ....................................................... 79 California Cooperative Wholesale, Oakland .................................... 110, 126 Campbell, W. J. ................................................................ 159 Canada, Cooperation in .......................................................... 126 Carpenter, J. Henry ............................................................ 192 Central Cooperative Wholesale ..... 1, 11, 13, 76, 109, 125, 126, 141, 144, 151, 155, 174, 175 Central States Cooperative League ................................................ 91 Chase, Stuart .................................................................. 175 Chicago, Cooperation in ............................................... 30, 46, 77, 117 Childs, Marquis W. ............................................................. 112 Church and Cooperation ..................................................... 155. 179 Uoquet Cooperative Society .................................................... 6, 11 Coady, M. M. .................................................................. 164 Associations, Cooperative .................................................. 30 ge Cooperatives ............................................ 78, 140, 142, 153, 191 "ege Courses in Cooperation ...................................... 28, 47, 92, 93, 186 mmunity Hospital, Elk City, Oklahoma ..................................... 94, 128 nnecticut, Cooperation in ...................................................... 79 Distribution Corporation ........................................... 127, 154 Cooperative Services, New York City ............................. 109, 143 Cooperatives Associated, Amarillo, Texas ............................ 27, 108 INDEX INDEX Consumers Cooperative Association, North Kansas City 12, 27, 50, 60, 61, 62, 77, 126 174 HP Cook, Philip ............................................................ ' *• 88 Cooley, Oscar ...........................................................':."••• " Cooperative Distributors ............................................. 13, 79, Ho 7! Cooperative Education Association, Pasadena, California ......................... 28 141 Cooperative Life Insurance Company of America ................................ ' ^ Cooperative Month ........................................................ ' ,?. Cooperative Wholesale, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois .................... 91, 108, 118, '152, Jgg Cooperators Life Association ................................................ ' ,,. Cort, E. G. ................................................................ 124, jïï Courses in Cooperation, Training ........' ™ Cowden, Howard A. Cowling Ellis Credit Unions .. Crews, Cecil R. .. 103, 126, 143, 1 .......... 49, D Davis, Henry ............................ Dawber, Mark A. ........................ Debate Subjects .......................... Delta Cooperative Farm, Rochdale, Mississippi Democratic Control in Cooperation .......... Denmark, Cooperation in ................... Discussion Circles ......................... Douglas, Paul H. .......................... Drury, James C. .......................... 3, 34, .. 184, .. 124, 117 192 97 155 149 111 190 192 81 E Eastern Cooperative League ............................................. 29, Eastern Cooperative Wholesale ...................................... 108, 141, Education in Cooperation ............................. 4, 85, 100, 104, 119, 153, Education, New Advance in Cooperative ..................................... Edwards, Ellen ............................................................. Electricity Supply ........................................... 11, 17, 27, 77, 93, Elliott, Sydney R. .......................................... 95, 111, 125, 142. Employees, Labor Organization of Cooperative ............................. 70, Employees, Training of Cooperative Officers and ............................... Evanston, Illinois, Consumers Cooperative ..................................... 188, 190 143, 153 171, 183 .... 20 .... 95 127, 155 145, 161 108, 109 .... res 56, 101 108 33 Failor, Clarence W. ............................................................. Farm and City Coopératives .......... ... ....................................... Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company .......................... 143, 188 Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union, Nebraska ............................. 46 Farmers Union Education Service, Jamestown, N. D. ................................ 174 Farmers Union Central Exchange, Saint Paul, Minn. .............................. 11, 78 Farmers and Cooperation ......... 'r.......................................... 124, 191 Farm Tenancy ........................................................ 26, 34, 36. 49 Federal Trade Commission ..................................................... 2, 47 Filene, Edward A. .......................................................... 163, 189 191 Films . Goldmark, Josephine, and Brandeis, Alice G. Grange Cooperative Wholesale, Seattle, Washington Great Britain, Cooperation in ..................... •• H> "" ~. PAGE 154, 160 ,. 50, 69 H Consumers Cooperative Association, Pennsylvania Health Association; Hedberg, Anders . - William Cooperative Hod Robin ... Housing, Cooperative Hull I-H. ••••••••• Hutchinson, Larl 81 95 108 101 13, 45, 47, 94, 110, 127, 137, 153, 160, 176 ..... 145, 155, 175 ............... 95 ............... 69 61, 77, 107, 130, 163 ............... 18 156 .................................. 33: Howe, Frederic C .............................................................. ni "Weals and Problems, Cooperative," Anders Oerne .................................. 192 i Jiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association '...................... 11, 12, 27, 47, 92, 143 Sal Conflicts-Strikes ...................................................... 192 Institutes ................................... H, 12, 88, 94, 108, 109, 110, 139, 158, 174 Institute, Cooperative League ................................................ 139, 174 Insurance ........................................ 12, 60, 77, 78, 110, 143, 153, 155, 162 Insurance Cooperative Agency, Marshfield, Wisconsin ............................. 110 International Trading ................................................... 106, 133, 152 International Cooperative Alliance ........................................ 142, 146, 177 Isanti County Cooperative Association, Cambridge, Minnesota ........................ 102 J [ohansson, Albin ................................................................ 133 Jones, E. Stanley ............................................................... 50 K Kagawa, Toyohiko .......................................................... 14, 96 KaDen, Horace M. .............................................................. 126 fondai Eric ................................................................... 6 Knapp, Joseph G. ............................................................... 124 Knickerbocker Village Cooperative, New York City ................................. 191 Finance Cooperatives ........................................................... "Find Your Lobster" ............................................................ 1{» Fowler, Bertram B. ........................................................... L 8 Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association, Minneapolis .................-..-•-••• ™ Gary Cooperative Trading Company, Illinois ....................................... }., "ay, fj Gibson, George ........................................................-•••••••.£, ™cGow; Gasoline and Oil Cooperatives .............................. 11, 27, 28, 92, 102, 162. 1W - — - -. *~. .... Ill Labor and Cooperatives ....................................................... 52, Laidler, H. W. and Campbell, W. J. .............................................. Landis, Beason Y. .......................................................... 161, Laski, Harold .................................................................. Legislation on Cooperation ................................. 107, 130, 140, 155, 161, Lewis, E. St. Elmo ............................................................... Lincoln, Murray D. ............... ............................................. Lind, Iver . Lloyd, William B., Jr. ........................................................... M Madison, Wisconsin, Consumers Cooperative ....................................... 110 Marketing Cooperation .......................................................... 9 &• Henry J. .................................................................. 101 «cbowan, R. A. . ........................... 52 *at Cooperatives '.'.'..'..'.'.'.....'...'.'.'...'.'....'...'.....................'..........'.. 191 «edicine Bureau of Cooperative (see Health Associations) ........................ 13 Cooperation in .......................................................... 142 70 159 163 4 174 17 161 102 123 INDEX Midland Cooperative Wholesale ............................ 26, 46, 61, 89, 125, Milk, Cooperative Distribution of ...................................... je Mitchell, John T. W. .................................................... Model State Law ........................................................ Morgan, Joy Elmer ....................................................... Murray, Robert .......................................................... Mutual Cooperative Insurance Association, Superior, \Visconsin ............... Myers, James C. ......................................................... INDEX PAGE 9. 23 132 100 61 19 101 12 97 N .. National Cooperatives, Inc. ................................................ 62, 108 Nebraska Farmers Union ................................................... | - Negroes in Cooperation ............. ..................................... "^ :j New Cooperative Company, Dillonvale, Ohio .................................. '27 'ir! Newfoundland, Cooperation in .............................................. ' ..^ New Zealand, Cooperation in ................................................" , Norgaard, James C. ........................................................ Northern States Cooperative League ....................................... 87, 158 Norway, Cooperation in .................................................. ' ' , Nourse, E. G. .............................................................;"" ,7' Nova Scotia, Cooperation in ................................... 17, 50, 84, 90, ' Ï64, jgj o Gerne, Anders ................................................................ j^ Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association ............ 11, 60, 93, 108, 152, 153, 174, 191 Oil and Gasoline Associations ............................................... 30, 77 91 Olds, Leiand ................................................................ jj Overstreet, Harry A. ........................................................... 113 Parodneck, Meyer .......................................................... 149 Peace .................................................. 17, 34, 107, 113, 145, 162, 177 Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association .......................... 12, 61, 152 Perkins, Lionel ................................................................. 106 Plays, Cooperative ............................................................. 187 Politics and Cooperation ........................................................ H7 Popular Front .................................................................. 50 Producers Cooperation .......................................................... 9 Purchasing Cooperatives ......................................................... 9 Pratt, Eliot D. .................................................................. 31 President's Commission of Inquiry on Cooperation in Europe ...................... 53, 66 Press Boosts Consumer Cooperatives ............. 15, 31, 48, 64, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160, 176 Price Control ....................................................... 73, 82, 133, 180 Publicity and Education .................................................... 119, 120 Q Quotations Regarding Cooperation ....................................... 81, 97, 98, 113 R Racine Consumers Cooperative, Wisconsin ................................. 46, 143, Randall, H. J. and Daggett, C. J. .................................................. Range Cooperative Federation, Virginia, Minn. ..................................... Recreation, Cooperative .................................... 123, 156, 172, 185, 187, Regli, W. E. ................................................................... Revolution, The World's Greatest ................................................ Resolutions on Cooperation ........................................... 28, 47, 61, Reynolds, Quentin .............................................................. Rochdale Principles ............................................................. Rohrbough, Lynn ............................................................... Roosevelt, Mrs. F. D. ........................................................... Rosenblum, Marc B. ............................................................ Rothery, Agnes ................................................................. 153 M 143 192 175 41 175 125 177 172 142 159 111 Xavier University, Nova Scotia ......................................... 84 :ion in ...................................................... 34, 54 on Coopération ............................................ 126, 139, 168, 174 £. M. ............................................................. 94, 128 c nish .. County Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Pa. ......................... 141 David E. ............................................................ 31 Cooperators .......................................................... 3, 100 Consumers Cooperative, Massachusetts ................................. 108 Oa,h ............................................................ 180 Organizations (see College Cooperatives) ................................. 12, 28 Clubs and Circles ............................................ 3, 17.20, 100, 164 ^oreme Court and the Farmer, The" ............................................ 36 Sweden, Cooperation in ........................................... 23, 34, 50. 100, 175 Trade Unions and Cooperation ................................................. 24, 92 Terminology, Cooperative ...................................................... 9, 63 Thompson, Glenn W. .......................................................... H 9 ^Cooperative '.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".".".".'.".'.".".".'.'.".'.'.".'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' Ï2, ' î8," 63. 79, ' 80.' 96. 'l54. 186 U United Cooperative Society, Maynard, Mass. .................................. 45, 141 United Cooperatives, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana ............................ 91, 141, 155 Van Dyke, CO............................................................ 109, 115 Vasarla, Hugo ................................................................. 101 W Wage Earner Health Association, St. Louis, Mo. ............................... 137, 153 Wallace, Henry A. ........................................... 26, 49, 81, 97. 113, 136 Walker, John Brisben ........................................................... 41 Warbasse, James Peter ........................................... 70, 95, 113, 147. 192 Ward, Gordon H. .............................................................. 34 Warne, Colston E. ............................................................. 181 Washington, D. C, Cooperation in ............................... 11. 79, 109, 175, 188 Watkins, W. P. ................................................................ 20 Wealth, How Can We Redistribute .............................................. 44 Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...................................................... 147 Webber, Charles C. ............................................................ 192 Western Pennsylvania Council of Consumer Cooperatives ............................ 79 Wholesaling . .......................... 92 Winemiller, William G. .......................................................... 183 Women's Guild, Northern States Cooperative ....................................... 126 Workmen's Mutual Fire Insurance Society, New York City .......................... 78 Yardsticks Camps".'.'.'.'.' • Courses . ' in Cooperation 99' 108 127 89 CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE • PLENTY • DEMOCRACY Volume XXIII. No. 1 JANUARY 1937 Ten Cents EDITORIALS "Every cooperative is a sign post to ward economic democracy.".—Fowler. • Cooperation is the democratic method of turning the nation's total income into mass purchasing power. • Other wholesales might well copy the sign "Welcome! Builders of a Better World," which greeted the delegates to the annual meeting of Central Coopera tive Wholesale, Superior, Wisconsin. • We echo the sentiment expressed by Mr. Neil S. Beaton, Chairman of the Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society before the quarterly meeting of Septem ber 12, "Time passes, and we become impatient with our progress. We realize that much of the unhappiness of the peo ple and the wars of nations are inherent in our present social system. Only by the substitution of Cooperation for Capital ism can the world be saved." • W. K. Gabler, Consultant Manage- ment Engineer, says in the December, 1936, issue of The Cooperative Mer chandiser, the official publication of the National Retailer-Owned Groceries, that the fact that so much is being published about Consumers' Cooperation is cer tainly not because the newspapers are in favor of cooperation and want to help the movement but only because "there is a definite public demand for in formation on the cooperatives." He con cludes by saying that if a cooperative system applies the following five prin ciples successfully, its chances for success are very great. The principles he enu merates are: 1. Large scale operation. 2. Successful policies and methods. 3. Maintenance of the democratic principle. 4. Efficient management. 5. Competitive prices. • This is a simple way of describing a Consumers' Cooperative, which was the opening paragraph in an article "What is a Cooperative" by Richard Giles in Printers Ink: "Stated simply, a consumers' cooperative is three fellows living together. At the beginning of the week they decide that Joe Doakes, the most practical of the three, should do the pur chasing for the week, and they kick in five dollars a piece. Doakes takes the fifteen, buys provender to last a week and has three dol lars left. He returns the three, one to each, and that is that." An organ to spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th Street, New York City. E- R. Eowen, Editor. Wallace J. Campbell, Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative s and Educational Directors of Cooperative Wholesales and District Leagues. as Second Class Matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March S, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Bl"erer- Mvstrom which he describes as growing 1 wly without undermining the profit tern However, he fears that there is *ys, ganger that the cooperative move- rC t may f°H°w °ther channels. The °e er jjes in three directions; first, that •fniiqht have an evangelical spirit; sec- ' A that it might endeavor to produce a °nw' (.ype of economic society; third, that the political administration might assist its development. The following are some typical illus trations from recent literature orders showing the different methods by which cooperative literature is being distributed: An Assistant Professor of Economics of one of the large universities says, "I find an increasing interest in economics students relative to Consumers' Coopera tion." An order for 100 copies of the folder "Learn All About Consumers' Coopera,- tion" stated that "I wish to send out a letter of inquiry to a prospective list and to enclose this circular as additional in formation," Another letter from the Director of De bate of a state university says, "The Uni versity debating association is sponsor ing a number of discussions on Con sumers' Cooperation." A Canadian University professor who orders literature, says, "We have recent ly organized an adult education associa tion here. At present we are mainly con cerned with Consumers' Cooperation." Economics classes in colleges, adult education discussion groups, debating associations, mailing lists — these and many other ways are practical methods of distributing cooperative literature. The Digest of the Cooperative Press published by the International Coopera tive Alliance under date of November 3, '936, is a special issue discussing coop erative education, particularly study circles. More and more it is becoming evident 'hat while Denmark is noted for having developed resident Folk Schools which raw out of a community a few persons T 9ive them a new type of education *, -j enlivens as well as enlightens, that is likely to eventually become equally as well known as the originator of the Study-Circle plan of education which reaches out from some central or ganization into every community and or ganizes the people as a whole into an adult education program. After long years, of experimentation with the Study-Circle method in the temperance and other fields, the cooperative movement of Sweden finally adopted the plan in a definite way about 1930. Now it is spreading to other European countries.- After two years of experimentation the Swiss Cooperative Union has added a Study-Circle section to their organization to promote ,and assist retail cooperative societies to organize their members into- Study-Circles. The publication of the Danish Cooperative Union points out the value of Study-Circles to interest and train young people as well as adults. The Belgian Cooperative Union has prepared a course of six lessons on Cooperation for Study-Circles. The Study-Circle program originated by Sweden and developed on the North American continent by St^ Francis Xavier University of Nova Sco tia, has proven to be the simplest, most economical and most efficient method of educating prospective and present mem bers. This method should be developed widely by cooperatives in America. The Cooperative League has just re ceived a second appeal from the Inter national Cooperative Alliance for funds for food and clothing for cooperators in Spain. The I. C. A. has already sent $20,000 worth of supplies but feels the extreme need calls for added assistance. The statement by Henry J. May, secre tary of the I. C. A., is as follows: "Contributions are to be used in the relief of our fellow cooperators in Spain, who are suffering want of food and other necessaries of life as the result of the terrible civil conflict which has now been waging for full five months. Apart alto gether from the distressful circumstances in which thousands of cooperators are existing at the present time, there is also to be considered the need for clothing in the present winter season, a need which; will be accentuated as the weeks ad vance." Contributions should be addressed to The Cooperative League. Consumers' Cooperation Januaryf COOPERATIVE EDUCATION From Third Hodgson Pratt Memorial Lecture Harold (Editor's Note: This educational challenge to the Cooperative Movement of Great Britain by a friendly critic of high standing as a writer and teacher, both there and in this country, is also de serving of serious consideration by American co operatives. Mr. Laski's complete Lecture "The Spirit of Cooperation" is available in pamphlet form, 15c per copy.) THE Cooperative Movement is not merely storekeeping with the divi dend as the bait to the consumer; it is al so, as I have been arguing, a philosophy of life with obligations that arise from its acceptance. I want to say something, however inadequate, upon the educa tional aspect of that obligation. You will forgive one who is inescapably wedded to his vocation as a teacher if he empha sises that aspect of your work which is nearest to his own. I begin by the recognition of how much you have accomplished. The work of the Cooperative Union and the Women's Guilds needs no eulogy from me; it has become an integral part of your life as a movement. I recognize gladly, too, the aid many societies in your movement have given to bodies like the National Council of Labor Colleges, and the Workers' Educational Association. The more ample the scale on which such aid is afforded, the more profound will be the appreciation of the cooperative spirit. Cooperative Literature Lacks Challenge But is it not true to say that, taken as a whole, there has been a certain want of imagination in your effort at education and propaganda? Is it not a by-product of the Movement, a side-road, rather than the central highway? Are there classics of cooperative literature in the same way that there are classics of so cialist literature to which we all turn for inspiration and instruction? Does the standard of your periodicals compare favorably with the best that capitalism produces? Is the level of instruction at the Cooperative College, the quality of its research, even approximate to that of the universities? Has there not been a tend ency to satisfaction with the mere crea tion of organs of opinion and education instead of an eager devotion to the con tinuous improvement of the levels which they work? I speak as a careful student of y0u effort in these fields. Frankly, it is n ! adequate to the opportunities at your dis posai. Cooperative literature, whether it is the book or the pamphlet or the iour nal, may stabilise the convictions of th converted; it does not make that universal appeal which is essential. It is, if I mav venture the remark, invariably parochial in tone. It lacks the note of fundamental challenge. It does not persuade the m,. known that they may throw off their chains, that there is a world to win. Often, no doubt, it is technically com petent, careful, accurate, knowledgeable. But it lacks that power to strike, as a great American put it, at the jugular, which compels the attention of the Philis tine. This defect is the more arresting in an epoch where the nation awaits a lead. How much close thinking are you doing, in this field, to provide the lead that is required? You have an opportunity such as has hardly come to you in the whole of your history. Traditional values are in the melting-pot; habitual principles are at a discount. A great periodical, an im portant economic treatise, a pamphlet as vital as, say, were Blatchford's "Merrie England" or the "Fabian Essays," forty and fifty years ago, would have a new and eager audience all over the world. What are you doing to produce these things? Can you remain content, in an epoch so critical as ours, to stand by the ancient ways? Have you not the duty to restate, with all the power you can com mand, both the first principles of your Movement, and their practical applica tion in divers realms of immediate sig nificance? A movement whose first prin ciples are as seminal as yours ought to have created a great literature to express them. That literature is wanting. When are you going to make the organized ana organic effort to produce it? So, also, with the educational field- » is not enough to give spasmodic an sporadic aid. The claims of education ar like the claims of love; you have nond afresh to them every day. If it is rjj Cooperative College, I want to see it staffed and so supported, that its S°achers and its research are as pivotal in he discussion of social problems as Kevnes and Pigou in this generation at Cambridge, as Marshall and Sidgwick . the last. I want the students of your to be making contributions to co- oe perative philosophy and technique which re in the central stream of social thought, so that the student of these things turns to them as naturally as to the work of Mr. and Mrs. Webb, of Professor Taw- ney or Mr. Col'e. I do not think the authorities of your Movement have even begun to think in these terms. And I do not believe that Cooperation, as an ideal, will take the place to which it is entitled in the national economy until they do". Cooperative Education Insufficiently Financed It is the same with educational classes. Broadly speaking, this aspect of the Movement has been peripheral, and not central, to its energies. Its leaders have not awakened to the perception that the larger investment they make in an in formed membership, the greater is the strength of the Movement, it would have paid them over and over again to finance the Labour Colleges and the W.E.A. on such a scale that neither had to go cap in hand to other bodies picking up a few odd guineas where they could. The real tragedy of the working class is the trage dy that they are not conscious of their power. The highroad to that conscious ness, as any citizen of Soviet Russia would tell them, lies in the possession of the keys of knowledge. And those keys can be bought and sold for the simple reason that the goodness or badness of an educational system is almost wholly dependent on the amount of money spent upon it. In Great Britain, Capitalism does its best to economise upon expenditure which might awaken the working class to a true realization of its position and its Possibilities. You cannot blame it for this, since it is an obvious insurance against 'he risk of being found out. But the power 01 a great movement such as yours to rePair, at least in part, some of the défi ciences which Capitalism perpetuates from generation to generation is enor- Consumers' Cooperation January, 1937 m°us; and I do not think it can be said Janu truthfully that your Movement has risen to its opportunities. Every Retail Cooperative Should Sell Literature I take one small example. With your millions of members, why are the coop erative stores not, in their formidable volume, the greatest agency in this coun try for the sale of books? They are not less important than soap or chocolate or tobacco; yet we can count almost on the fingers of both hands the stores in which the sale of books is a normal feature of daily business. "Give me the making of a nation's ballads," said Fletcher of Sal- toun, "and I care not who makes their laws." Give me the chance to sell the literature which, from Owen and Saint Simon, through Marx and William Mor ris, to Shaw and Well's and Webb, has exposed the hollow sham of capitalist pretensions, and I think I can safely pre dict that within a decade the conse quences would be profound. Your roundsmen ought to be selling books and pamphlets to his customers as naturally as he sells bread and milk. It is the sign of a defective imagination that the Move ment has not availed itself of this oppor tunity. Do not, I beg of you, think me un friendly or critical to excess in what 1 have ventured to say. You are entitled to candour; you did not invite me here merely that I should repeat the stereo typed eulogies it would be so easy to make. I say what I have said on this theme because in attention to its implica tions there lies a good deal of the future of the Cooperative Movement. All efforts such as yours go through times when they need to be taken up on to an emi nence and compelled to meditate not upon the daily urgencies, but upon the long-term possibilities which give reality its hope and its promise. And the proper time for such reflection is a period of grave social crisis like our own. Such periods always bring first principles into the foreground; and it is only by reflec tion upon their meaning that we can go forward. You must often have been troubled, as I have been troubled, by the vast number of those in the army of cooperators to whom the Movement is little more than a system of shops which pay a dividend ton purchases. They are the men and •women with whom you have failed. And you have failed with them because neither your educational nor your literary effort made them aware of links between you and them far more substantial than the cash-nexus which is your present 'bond. It is for their conquest that you, as I, are concerned. Your power to bind them to you with a moral loyalty that is unbreakable is what Edmund Burke called the "commodity of choice" of which you have the monopoly. Fail here, and your Movement will pass into that phase of stagnation which attends all great movements which do not make an imaginative use of their opportunities. "Your chance of creative adventure is supreme. Have the energy and the age to seize it in the spirit of pioneers. For, by doing so, you will do &„ thing more than extend the boundaries f Cooperation. You will make its spirit dominating part of our ethos as a nati & You will infuse every aspect of the Lab"1 Movement with the quality of your d * termination. You will give it a strength and a new purposive enerqv The foes it confronts today are powerful enough to require from you the whole authority of your ideal if they are to be defeated. You cannot rest on your past achievement. You are the trustees of your pioneers' dream. You have to pass jn undimmed the torch of its conscious life CLOQUET'S CORNER OF THE COMMONWEALTH Erick Kendall Associate Editor, "The Cooperative Builder" 'u"tJELLO. This is the manager of the •*-•*• Cloquet Co-op speaking. Put a little item in the Builder that we've bought out the Kuitu-Mattinen store building and will move our branch No. 1 there short- V Thus, casually, the Cloquet manager informed us of an important development. Just a matter-of-fact happening as far as the executives at Cloquet were concerned, but in reality typical of the way in which this "business-with-a-heart" movement is building a new world. Kuitu-Mattinen was a private store— a competitor of the co-op that, together with other profit concerns had done its best to do away with this cooperative that was revolutionizing the distributive game by keeping money in circulation instead of piling it up into the hands of the few. These profit-motivated businesses had the field wide open in the early days of Cloquet, the same as they still have in thousands of "Cloquets" throughout the land. They just took, and took, and took some more from the mill hands of this little northern Minnesota lumbering cen ter and from the "stump farmers" that had settled the surrounding countryside, divested of its wealth in forest produce by still larger "takers," who are still basking on their ill-gotten gains on the sands of Palm Beaches and Rivieras. But a considerable portion of Cloquet's 7,000 population consisted of a quiet and steady-going people known as Finns. They were men who already in their arc tic homeland had banded together to do something about this breeder of depres sions and misery—this thing profit. These men and women refused to merely go on an emotional joy-ride by listening to soap-box orators spout about the Utopia to come. They knew that the system was all wrong, but they also knew that talk was cheap. In the early years of the present cen tury these Cloquet Finns took their first whack at the profit system. They estab lished a workers* stock company. This, however, was not quite a true coopera tive, and in 1909 it went into bankruptcy. They Started Again But the Cloquet Finns didn't fold their hands and say "uncle." The hinges on the closed doors of the stock company scarcely had time to rust before the co operative idea was again crystalizing. In January, 1910, a collection netting $35 was taken at an entertainment sponsored by the local Finnish Workers Club for the purpose of starting a cooperative store. Though some were skeptical be cause of losses suffered in the stock com pany, the pioneers kept at the idea witn Consumers' Cooperation 'cal Finnish perseverance, and in the •nq the cooperative store opened for ifsiness with 121 members and a capital of $1,622. Due to lack of cooperative laws the so- • ty was incorporated under the name, "Cloquet Stock and Mercantile Co." However, it was a true cooperative and trictly adhered to the Rochdale prin ciples. In 1921 it was reincorporated un der the cooperative law and the name changed to "Cloquet Cooperative So ciety," and under this name the organiza tion has gone a long way towards estab lishing in northwestern Minnesota a small corner of the Cooperative Common wealth. Going Was Hard at First The going was far from smooth for the Cloquet pioneers. First, there was the dis trust of the consumers due to earlier fail ures. Then a lack of funds caused by credit trading. At one time, prior to the establishment of the Central Cooperative Wholesale, private wholesales threatened to close the co-op's doors unless at least $1.000 was forthcoming on accounts within the next 24 hours. An emergency meeting of the members was called and the situation explained. Did these members lose faith in their co-op? No. Instead, they went to the bu reau drawers, dug out their bank books, and toted their life savings to the harass ed manager. The co-op got more money than it needed, and at reasonable rates of interest. The old mutual distrust between the workers and farmers was another stum bling block during the early days. Dis trusting their fellow consumers from the town's paper mills, ____________ the Finnish farmers in the surrounding territory set up their own cooperative store on an island in the St. Louis River, almost within shout ing distance of the Qoquet Cooperative Society. This co-op, «lied the "Knife «Us Co-op Ass'n." through the difficulties as lts urban brother, January, 1937 making the same mistakes and suffering from the same diseases of non-cooperator managers, etc. Fire Takes All As if to add the overflow-drop to the local cooperators' cup of troubles, a disas trous fire swept the entire section of Min nesota in 1918. The town of Cloquet was swept slick and clean, cooperators losing their all, including the store they had built. The farmer-owned store on the island didn't burn, but it suffered almost equally through the destroyed buying power of the membership. There is an old humorous poem about a farmer who knew how to take strokes of hard luck. After losing his livestock, a cyclone took his house, an earthquake swallowed the ground where it used to stand and a tax collector taxed him for the hole in the ground. The poem con cludes: Did he mourn and sigh, did he weep and cry? And cuss the hurricanes sweeping by? Not him! He climbed to the top of the hill Where standing room was left him still, And burying his head, here's what he said: "I guess it's time to get up and get. But Lord, I ain't had the measles yet." They Didn't "Get" v That's just the kind of men and women the Cloquet cooperators were. But instead of "getting up to get" they proceeded to fill "the hole in the ground." And shortly the co-op store was bigger and better than ever. The misfortune served to weld them closer together and to rally around their joint enterprise with renewed ener gy. A historical sketch of the co-op, pub lished ten years ago, describes this period as follows: "About the time of the great fire the 1 '. - . é * >-.>» One of Cloquet's Corners of the Commonwealth paid-in share capital was $2,885 and the net worth $6,081. When the books were balanced the first time after the fire, the value of the capital stock of the company was only $491.46 and its own resources had all been wiped out. "In spite of the fact that the financial situation looked almost hopeless, the board of directors met soon after the fire, and began to plan the reconstruction of the store. A temporary structure was erected on the lot owned by the com pany." Business Picks Up "When the store was opened again after the fire in this temporary structure, business rapidly picked up. It seems that through the common misfortune people had been brought closer to each other and appeared to realize the value of co operation more than ever before. Then, what made the cooperative store partic ularly popular was its policy to sell goods to the stricken consumers, many of whom had lost heavily through the fire, at very reasonable prices." It wasn't long before the farmers, too, began to realize that as consumers their interests were identical with those of the urban consumers. In 1923 the farmers' co-op on Dunlop island was consolidated with the other store, becoming its branch. That action marked the reaching of the hilltop for the Cloquet store co-op. From then on, its history has been just one victory after another. It could possibly be best sketched in brief headlines something like the following: 1923 CLOQUET CO-OP SOCIETY AMALGA MATES WITH FARMERS' STORE Volume for Year $265,757; Non-Finns Becoming Members. 1924 CLOQUET CO-OP'S VOLUME $366,064 Pays Over $10,000 in Trade Rebates 1927 CO-OP OPENS STORE NO. 3 AT ESKOS CORNER Reports 2,277 Members; Sales Over $516,000 1932 CLOQUET SETS UP STORE NO. 4 AT MAHTOWA Has Volume of $468,780 1935 CO-OP BUILDS GAS STATION 6 GARAGE Sales Nearly $900,000 for a year 1936 FORMER COMPETITOR'S MODERN STORE BOUGHT BY CO-OP First American Cooperative store to pass $1,000,000 mark 8 Starting out with its one little gro rnPRFCT COOPERATIVE TERMINOLOGY shop a quarter century ago, the Cloq CUKK"-**-1 V-WV-M i_rvr-n i Y i_ i i_i\iv\ii ^v^t-v^vx i on Cooperative has added one departs 6' after another till it now handles pra t cally everything that a human be' '" needs in his lifetime, from nipples throu ? automobiles to necesssities for the la ride. It has four grocery and meat shon and departments for the handling of co | dry goods, furniture, feed, buildinq m ' terial, petroleum products, automobil " and insurance. It buys beef cattle fro * its farmer members and butchers for th use of the urban consumers—the bénir ning for the complete cooperative circl of production and distribution, A firm believer in centralization, the Cloquet Co-op has been one of fa founders, and is an ardent supporter of the Central Cooperative Wholesale, the Trico Cooperative Oil Association and the Northern States Cooperative League (through which it is affiliated with The Cooperative League of the U.S.A.) The co-op's directors assisted the organiza tion of a Cooperative Burial Association for Carlton, Aitkin, Pine and St. Louis Counties. Having taken the profits out of the business of living, the Cloquet cooper- ators want to die sans profit as well. Does Education Work Aside from being a dues-paying mem ber in cooperative educational organiza tions, the Cloquet co-op does a good deal of educational work on its own score. In connection with the main store on Avenue F. and 14th Street it has an auditorium, fully equipped for the staging of plays and entertainments of all types. It circu lates cooperative publications among the membership, arranges cooperative insti tutes, organizes essay contests, etc. The Cloquet cooperators are not mere ly selling beans over a counter. They are building up their corner of the Coopera tive Commonwealth—and they know it. as the following quotation from Article 1 of the society's by-laws will show: "The cooperative society is not a com petitive business which endeavors to ac cumulate money by selling commodities for profit, but its object is to aid in bring ing about a complete change in the pres ent system of production and distribution, and in developing a new and just system serving the interests of the community- are four basic kinds of eco- | nofflic activities to which the word ••Cooperation" is commonly applied. They are Production, Marketing, Pur- basing and Finance. Because of the wide 'ariation in the use of cooperative termi- V loqy there is need for clarification and standardization. Cooperatives begin basically as or- qanizations of individuals. Producers Co operation is the pooling of the labor of the individual members. Cooperative Marketing is the pooling of the products of the individual members. Cooperative Purchasing is the pooling of the pur chasing power of the individual members. Cooperative Finance is the pooling of the funds of the individual members. 1. Producers Cooperatives Producers Cooperatives are organiza tions of individuals who pool their labor to produce together. They may consist of agricultural, in dustrial or professional workers. Agricul tural Producers Cooperatives are groupe of individuals who pool their labor to farm together; Industrial Producers Co operatives are groups of individuals who pool their labor to manufacture together; Professional Producers Cooperatives are groups of individuals who pool their labor to render service together. Only a few real Producers Coopera tives, made up of persons who pool their labor for production are in existence. Their record of failure has been most serious over the last hundred years. The term Producers Cooperatives is sometimes applied to Marketing Coop eratives, which is plainly an incorrect designation. A Producers Cooperative is correctly only a cooperative organization of individuals who pool their labor to produce together. Marketing Coopera tives, discussed in the next paragraph, are almost entirely made up of individuals wno produce separately and pool their Products for market, but not their labor tor production. 2. Marketing Cooperatives Marketing Cooperatives are organiza tions of individuals who commonly pro duce separately with their own labor and capital and pool their products and mar ket them together. Marketing Coopera tives are sometimes called Farmer Co operatives as they are generally made up of farmers. In some cases, such as fruit, eggs and cotton marketing cooperatives, the prod ucts handled are graded for the market; in other cases, such as milk, marketing cooperatives process a part of the prod uct they handle into butter and cheese in order to market it more readily. They also often purchase cooperatively the supplies . they use in processing and packaging the finished products. 3. Purchasing Cooperatives Purchasing Cooperatives are organiza tions of individuals who pool their pur chasing power to buy any and all forms of supplies and services together. Charles Gide of France, who is ac cepted as among the truest of cooperative philosophers, says, "In a broad sense a consumers' cooperative society exists every time that a number of persons feel ing the same need, join together col lectively to satisfy it better than they could do by individual means." Some forms of supplies are commonly designated, for statistical purposes, as producers goods and others as consumers goods. Whether the goods that are pur chased together cooperatively are classi fied as producers or consumers goods does not change the correct cooperative classification of the transaction. In either case it is Cooperative Purchasing. Fur thermore since all supplies or services are purchased by consumers for immediate or longer time consumption, the name Consumers' Cooperation is correctly used synonymously with the words Co operative Purchasing. When individuals purchase together they are acting as consumers, rather than Consumers' Cooperation January, 1937 as producers, no matter whether what they purchase is for immediate consump tion such as food or gasoline, or for con sumption over a longer period of time such as clothing or fertilizer. For further clarification, take this il lustration. Individuals organize coopera tives to purchase canned goods to eat. Plainly they are acting as consumers. Eventually as consumers they build a canning factory and buy equipment for canning. Such equipment is commonly classified statistically as producers goods. But the purchase of canning equipment, •even though statistically described as producers goods, does not make the transaction Producers Cooperation. Whether the canned goods or the canning equipment is purchased it is all Coop erative Purchasing or Consumers' Coop eration. Suppose, further, that individual farm producers join together into a Purchasing Cooperative to buy together. They may buy fertilizer for their farms, gasoline for their tractors, clothes for their bodies or food for their stomachs. The fertilizer is spread on the ground, the gasoline is put into the tank of the tractor, the farmer dresses himself in his clothes, and eats the food. When he goes out and gets on the tractor to start plowing he is not act ing as a member of a Producers Coop erative, as he is producing individually. He has not acted as a member of a Mar keting Cooperative as all he has done has been to purchase cooperatively. Whether fertilizer for the ground, or gasoline for the tractor, or clothes for his body, or food for his stomach, he has only acted as a purchaser or consumer, no matter how the goods he has purchased may be classified for statistical purposes, whether as producers or consumers goods. The purchase of producers goods, so called, does not make the transaction Producers or Marketing Cooperation. Cooperative Purchasing or Consumers' Cooperation includes all pooling of purchasing power for the cooperative buying of all forms of supplies and services. Cooperative Production may be under taken by either Marketing or Purchasing Cooperatives as has been indicated from the discussion. Marketing Cooperatives may process their products as a part of their marketing functions. Purchasing Cooperatives likewise may reach back 10 they have pooled together amount of purchasing power, build'601 buy a factory and begin producing t)°r either type of cooperative production "' usually not done as a separate organ; ^ tion but only as a division of the pare3" marketing or purchasing coopératif The phrase Producers Cooperation •' sometimes used interchangeably with G? operative Production which is manifest] incorrect when applied to such process ing or manufacturing of products b" Marketing or Purchasing Cooperatives 4. Finance Cooperatives The largest number of Cooperative Fi nance Organizations are called by the name of Credit Unions. There are other types as well, principally in the farm field, known by such names as Credit Banks, etc. Cooperative Insurance is sometimes known as Secondary Finance. National Organizations Most naturally in the development of Cooperatives there comes a time when it is found to be practicable to set up Na tional Organizations for education and business in each of the four Cooperative fields. Some regional cooperative organi zations are members of more than one of the national groups. No national Producers Cooperative or ganizations, either educational or busi ness, exist in the United States. Cooperative Marketing organizations have set up the National Cooperative Council, Washington, D. C., as their educational agency. Their national busi ness functions are carried on as separate national commodity groups rather than as one national organization. Cooperative Purchasing organizations have set up The Cooperative League. New York City, as their educational agency. A number of regional Coopera tive Purchasing organizations have set up National Cooperatives, Inc., Chicago, 111., as their national business agency. Cooperative Finance organizations have set up the Credit Union National Association, Madison, Wis., as their edu cational agency. Consumers' Cooperation CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVES IN Superior, Wisconsin—Central Coop- tive Wholesale added a cool half mil- fr^ dollars to its 1935 sales record to ach a new grand total of $2,830,302 for Ï936. The new record exceeds the year's otâ by $80,000 and showed an increase T 29 50 Per cent over 'ast year's sales of $2,185,244. Seattle, Washington —• Early returns indicated that business for 1936 would exceed by at least ten per cent the $1,- 425,000 wholesale volume of Grange Co operative Wholesale in 1935. Growing business in eastern Washington made it necessary to construct additional ware house and office space in Spokane ' to handle the influx of cooperative trade. Columbus, Ohio — Cooperatives affil iated with the Ohio Farm Bureau Fed eration completed their most successful year to date according to a summary pre pared by L. A. Taylor. assistant secre tary of the Ohio Farm Bureau. Member ship increased 12 per cent; cooperative business totaled $7,000,000; auto insur ance policies in force 180,000; life insur ance business $16,500,000; fire insurance business $50,000,000; power was supplied to 1500 homes and contracts totaling $2,000,000 were let for electric lines to serve 7,000 farms; combined assets mounted to $8,500,000 and subscribers to the Farm Bureau News jumped to 72,000. Minneapolis — Minnesota co-ops in creased their total business in gasoline more than 8,000,000 gallons in 1935 to establish themselves firmly as .second largest distributors of gasoline in the state. With a total volume which has grown from 17,000,000 gallons in 1929 to more than 38,000,000 in 1935, the co ops are now second only to Standard of Indiana. Co-op business grew from 4.88 per cent of the state total in 1929 to 8.51 per cent in 1935, while the volume of Standard Oil's business fell from 26.38 to 17-92 per cent. Washington, D. C.—Farm supply co operatives became an increasingly im portant factor in rural economy in the twelve months ending June 31 by in creasing business $59,000,000, making a total volume of $309,000,000. In the ten January, 1937 years from 1925 to 1935, farm supply co operatives increased from 3 to 12 per cent of the nation's total farm supply business. Two Harbors, Minn.—The Minnesota Power and Light Company has apparent ly abandoned a vain attempt to scare out the Lake County Cooperative Power As sociation. The private company sent 7 trucks and 50 men into the territory of the co-op and started building parallel lines. After energizing its lines to serve a handful of farmers, the private-profit company withdrew. St. Paul—The Farmers Union Central Exchange voted at its annual meeting here December 12 to extend the privileges of membership to its first city coopera tive. The action follows a tradition sef by other cooperative wholesales which have in the last few years opened mem bership to urban as well as rural organi zations. Cloquet, Minnesota—The Cloquet Co operative Society became the first local retail cooperative to boost its annual busi ness past the million dollar mark. The first 11 months of 1936 showed an in crease of $221,000 over its volume in the same period the preceding year. Sales to the end of November were $1,015,000. Share capital interest and patronage divi dends to members totaled more than $40,000. Indianapolis — Credit Unions organ ized by cooperatives affiliated with the Farm Bureau Cooperative Association have accumulated assets of more than $200,000. Loans of more than $400,000 have been made since the credit union program of organization was launched in 1931. Minneapolis — Eighty students from four states completed the course of study at the Institute for Cooperative Manage ment held at the Center for Continuation Study on the Campus of the University of Minnesota November 16 to December 12. This was the first time any state uni versity had participated in sponsoring such a school or in furnishing members 11 of its faculty. Professors from the Uni versity of Minnesota and members of the staff of Midland Cooperative Wholesale made up the faculty of the institute. Manhattan, Kansas —• Kansas State College opened a short course for coop erative managers here November 30. The course will run through January 30, and will include technical training on the problems of cooperative management as well as lectures on the nature of the eco nomic system and the history and prin ciples of consumer cooperation. Jamestown, North Dakota — The Farmers Union Cooperative Education Service, the Northern States Cooperative League and the State Farmers Unions of Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin are conducting a series of cooperative institutes in January, February and March. The North Dakota Institute at Williston will run from January 4 through January 23. The Montana and Wisconsin Institutes will run from Feb ruary 1 to 20 and from February 22 to March 15, respectively. Indianapolis — The Education depart ment of Indiana Farm Bureau Coopera tive Association reports that 569 young people in the state went to cooperative camps or institutes during the year. Most of these were one week summer institutes. North Kansas City, Mo.—Merlin G. Miller, for six years professor of history and sociology at the College of Emooria, Emporia, Kansas, has resigned to become a member of the education department of Consumers Cooperative Association. Professor Miller was director of the Co operative Leadership Summer School at the American Peoples School, New York City, last year and was for some time president of the Emporia Consumers Co operative Association. Tampa, Florida—The American Fed eration of Labor at its annual conference November 16-24 endorsed the organiza tion of workers as consumers in con sumer cooperatives and urged a "close alliance" between organized labor and the consumers cooperative movement. E. R. Bowen, General Secretary of The Cooperative League, addressed the con vention urging that labor organize its purchasing power as well as its producing power as "twin remedies" for the solu tion of the problems of labor. A special 12 meeting was called by the Workers Ed cation Bureau and The Coopérât; League to discuss further steps in coorf erative organization. This was the fir~ time in the history of the A. F. of L. that a representative of organized consumer was invited to address its national con clave. Harrisburg, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association organized two years ago, had a qro«• office supplies, etc., to individual and dub members by mail. Superior, Wisconsin — Central Coop- dative Wholesales' branch warehouse at lrginia, Minnesota, which was opened lam uary, 1937 late in September to serve local coopera tive associations in the Mesabe Range territory of Northern Minnesota, did a $30,000 business during its first three months of operation. • COOPERATIVE MEDICINE A Bureau of Cooperative Medicine has been established by The Coop erative League. The League has been carrying on work in the interest of group organization for health protection since 1916. Its President, Dr. Warbasse, had already been working in this field, and had published many articles on the sub ject. His pamphlet on "The Socializa tion of Medicine" was published by the Journal of the American Medical Asso ciation, July 18, 1914. A chief function of The League has been to show people how to unite cooperatively to supply themselves with commodities and serv ices; and among the most important of these is medical service. The League has been promoting this medical work for twenty years just as it has been promoting the organization of stores, oil stations, etc., without a special department for each. Recently the in terest in cooperative health protection has become so great that this Bureau has been created. This has seemed called for because of the highly specialized nature of medical service. The Bureau of Cooperative Medi cine is prepared to give instruction and advice on the organization of groups of people who wish to employ medical serv ice. Already such groups in many parts of the country are in operation and in process of organization. Groups that are in operation can help by sending to The League information on their work. We wish to know the name and location of every cooperative health society in the country. They will serve the cause by making themselves known to The Cooperative League. Literature on cooperative medicine will be sent to groups thus making themselves known. The Executive Board of the Bureau of Cooperative Medicine of The League consists of Dr. J. P. Warbasse, Chairman; Dr. Fred D. Mott, Vice-Chairman; Dr. King.sley Roberts, Medical Director; Mr. S. W. Friedland, Secretary; Mr. Boris Orlov, Treasurer. 13 BOOK REVIEWS THE WAY OUT OF CHAOS Brotherhood Economics, by Toyohiko Kagawa, Rauschenbush Lectures on "Christian Brother hood and Economic Reconstruction," Harper and Bros., New York ................ $1.50 (Order through The Cooperative League) To say that we are in chaos at present is only to mouth the commonplace. We are seeking a way out of this chaos in America. We do not want to go back, but forward. What is to be the new American economic and political order? Kagawa has boldly and succintly suggested the cooperative way. The cooperatives are a brotherhood movement. Charles Clayton Morrison, editor of The Christian Century, stirred and challenged us when he pointed out the "responsibility of the Church for the character of civilization." Kagawa shows us that the cooperative method is the way by which the Church can actually realize this responsibility. "If Christians of various denominations would unite among themselves on the principles of the New Testament which are common to all in spite of some differences of interpretation, and if they would agree to practice the co operative movement based upon brotherhood love, they would be able to prevent unem ployment, panic and exploitation." Again, Kagawa definitely suggests the cooper ative state. He feels that nothing short of this will suffice to accomplish the end desired, both politi cally and economically. The cooperative nation is the only way out of our dilemma. I am not enough of an economist or a statesman to comment criti cally upon this section of the book. The very fact, however, that it is written and published in very definite and practical terms, is a most stimulating statement, and we hope, is of far-reaching signifi cance. It is something to be thought through care fully, and also a target to shoot at. There will be many "shooters," but we anticipate, many thinkers also. Finally, Kagawa presents the way to world peace through cooperatives. War can be stopped only as the problems of our national economic differences and advantages are solved through co operation and world brotherhood. Thus, Kagawa envisions world-wide cooperation—all of this based on the Christian principles of love and brotherhood. The simple and straight-forward language, and the breadth and vision of the think ing is the marvel of this chapter. The following significant statement closes the lectures: "If we leave economic activities as they are today, the peace of the world will never be established. Neither will religion in its present state ever realize world peace. Peace will come only when the consciousness of redemp tive love as manifested on the Cross per meates the life of international economy through brotherhood love evidenced in the cooperative movement. So with the same courageous spirit that drove millions of men to dedicate their lives to the Crusades and to the reclamation of the Holy Land, let us with- 14 out delay endeavor to 'cooperatize' the nomic system of the world. With thi ^ complished, we shall find that we have V'0" •the only sure foundation for the establish™ of world peace." ent The book is a challenge. It is a fitting wort climax the widely influential tour of America '° completed by Dr. Kagawa. We thank him J^ profoundly for his life-blood expended here in °St nation, and now for this potentially strategic booT J. Henry Carpem», Executive Secretary, National KaqavT Coordinating Advisory ComrnitfJ • NEW CO-OP TEXT Consumers Cooperative Adventures, Harlan J Randall and Clay J. Daggett, Whitewater Press Whitewater, Wisconsin .............. jß (V) (Order through The Cooperative League) "Consumers Cooperative Adventures" written by Professors Randall and Daggett, appeals to me as a most valuable addition to the educational equipment of the cooperative movement. The value of the book is at once apparent to anyone familiar with the problems of the teacher and with the difficulties confronting the student who is at tempting to acquaint himself with a new field ol subject matter. While we have many books on the subject which satisfy the demands of the analytical economists, we have few which meet the demands of the critical scientist and at the same time serve the needs of the teacher and student. The authors of this work, one an economist and the other an educator, have succeeded, it seems to me, in pro ducing a book which serves the requirements of those two groups in a most satisfactory manner. A fair examination of the book will show that the above conclusion is easily justified. The im partial treatment of subject matter; the presenta tion of the faults as well as the virtues of the cooperative system; the sensible distribution ol attention between the various essential aspects oi the movement and the significant details; the simplicity of the language and the boldness of the type; the pleasing illustrative material consisting of about one hundred plates, graphs, and photo graphs; and the thought-provoking, study-compel ling and discussion-stimulating questions at the end of each chapter all combine to make the book an excellent text for school or college use or lor the usual educational work of any cooperative association. Are Co-ops) Adventures? There is but one adverse criticism which I should like to offer; and this, perhaps, may be rather insignificant. It seems to me that the word "adventures" as it is used in the title may fl>ve undue stimulus to an erroneous belief which is al ready prevalent in the American mind; namf'^ the belief that cooperative enterprises established for service are more likely to fail or less likely ' succeed than are competitive enterprises estaD- lished for private profit. The facts, it seems to me, do not justify any such belief. In truth, the evi- Consumers' Cooperation warrants just the opposite conclusion, that de"ce j money honestly invested in cooperative lab01 ises are more likely to return a fair reward ente{?' investor than if the same support be de- 10 i to competitive, profit-motivated businesses v°j 'ndustries. However, as I have said, the I a • -„n may be insignificant for it certainly does criticism not pertain to the contents of the book itself. I wish to take advantage of the opportunity of fered by this review to urge my fellow teachers, fellow students and fellow cooperators to examine this book. J. R. Cotton, Dept. of Economics, Wisconsin State Teachers College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. THE PRESS BOOSTS CONSUMERS' COOPERATION GENERAL MAGAZINES , ..i,..,,. Spectator, December-January, "Co-ops: Tte Latest Ox-Cart to Utopia," Allan Chase. Atlantic Monthly, December, 1936, "The Coopéra- ftri s_An Experiment in Civilization," J. B. Matthews. An answer will appear in the March Call of Youth, November, 1936, "The Co-ops in America," Al Friedman. Consumers Guide, November 30, 1936, "Are Price Tags Enough?" Current Digest, December, 1936, "Co-ops," M. Lowell Gunzburg, reprinted from Mid-Week Pictorial. Daily Californian, October 21, 23, 26, November 2, 1936, Series of four articles on Student Co operatives, Peter Shinoda and Walter Headley. Free America, January, 1937, "Cooperation for Distributists," Bertram B. Fowler. Journal of Electrical Workers and Operators, No vember, 1936, "Growth of Co-ops Drives To ward Clash." Journal of the National Education Association, January, 1937, 16 page section on "The Con sumers Cooperative Movement," Benson Y. Landis. Junior Red Cross Journal, December, 1936, "Con sumer Cooperation in America," Bertram B. Fowler. Literary Digest, November 21, 1936, "Prosperity Forge: Nova Scotia by Cooperative Action Banishes Poverty." New Republic, November 18, 1936, "Consumer Cooperation and Labor," Herbert Fierst. News for Farmer Cooperatives^ November, 1936, "Quality—A Purchasing Co-op's Obligation," Robert Welles Ritchie. Pathfinder, October 17, 1936, "Cooperatives Meet," news item. October 24, 1936, "Cooperative Movement," Editorial. Social Frontier, January, 1937, "We Study Scan dinavia," Goodwin Watson. Student Advocate, October-November, "Campus Cooperatives," William Moore. BUSINESS JOURNALS Advertising Age, November 16, 1936, "Retail Sell- ™fl to Change with Co-ops," report of speech of Percy S. Brown at American Management Ass'n. Tl* Annalist, October 23, 1936, "Rural Electrifi cation, A Conspicuous Aspect of the Coopera tive Movement," Bernhard Ostrolenk. °"aness Week, November 21, 1936, "Cooperative rervor Wanes." ^-«operative Merchandiser, December, 1936, "The Bugaboo of Consumer Cooperatives," W. K. Jam luary, 1937 Dun and Bradstreet Monthly, December, 1936, "Consumer Cooperatives," Willard Thorp. Hardware Retailer, November, 1936, "Don't Wor ry Too Much About Co-ops," "The Mystery of Washington," an editorial. The Index, December, 1936, "Consumer Coopera tives, Their Actual Status in our National Economy." Nation's Business, January, 1937, "Consumer Co operation Moves to Town," Edward Moeller. National Petroleum News», October 28, 1936, Re port of speech of Warren C. Platt at Oil Mar keters Convention. The Plan, "Meeting the Business Problems in a Changing America," E. St. Elmo Lewis. Restaurant Management, October, 1936, "Cafe teria Principles and Practices," R. T. Huntisg- ton. Sales Management, October 20, 1936, "Behind that Co-op Label," Bertram B. Fowler. Tide, December, 1936, "Co-op Front." RELIGIOUS MAGAZINES Catholic Worker, November, 1936, "Cooperation in Racine Showing Labor Way Out." December, 1936, "Cooperative Has 1st Anni versary of Foundation," Eisa F. Schabehar. Catholic Digest, November, 1936, "Let's Cooper ate," Richard Deverall, reprinted from the Christian Front. Central Blatt and Social Justice, December, 1936, "Farmers Cooperative Wholesale Succeeds," "Opposition to Cooperatives." Christian Front, January, 1937, "The Basic Sound ness of Cooperation," Don Virgil Michel, O.S.B. "Cooperation and the Just Price," Richard Deverall. Christian Register, November 19, 1936, "Danish High Schools," a Talk with Mrs. Louis D. Bran- deis, Delos W. O'Brian. Christian Century, December 12, 1936. "The Church and Cooperatives," Ellis Cowling. Epworth Herald, December 5, 1936, "Cooperation is More Than Buying," Arthur Hedley. Landward, Autumn, "The Burning Bush in Nova Scotia," Nora Bateson. Queen's Work, December, 1936, "Campus Co-ops Cut Cost of College Education," William Moore. January, 1937, "From Toad Lane to—? Actual Photographs Tell the Story," G. A. McDonald, S.J. United Presbyterian, August 13, 1936, "An Appli cation of Christian Ethics," Howard Thompson. LABOR PUBLICATIONS Milwaukee Leader, September 15, 1936, "Workers Awaken to Lack of Consumers Cooperative," Irvin L. Aaron. 15 New Leader, December 5, 1936, "Cooperatives Urge Labor Tie-up," E. R. Bowen. Progressive, November 7, 1936, William Green's Speech to Cooperative Congress. December 19, 1936, "A. F. of L. Report on Co operatives." Workers Education News,, November 14, 1936, "Worker Should Get Value for his Wages, Says Green." December 5, 1936, "Evening Meeting on Work ers' Education and Cooperatives." "Racine Workers Build a Cooperative" by Wil liam Lloyd, published in the August issue of Consumers' Cooperation, was reprinted in the following labor publications: Federation News, November 7, 1936. Machinists' Monthlv Journal. November, 1936. Railway Carmen's Journal, November, 1936. Quarry Workers Journal, November, 1936. "Religion and Distribution," an address by Ed- v/arrl A. Filene, was reprinted in the following publications: Boilermakers Journal, Dprem'ber. 1936. Character, December, 1936. Christian Science Monitor. October 22, 1936. Federation News, November 14, 1936. Information Service, October 31, 1936. Machinists' Monthly Journal, December, 1936. Ouarry Workers Journal. November, 1936. Railway Carmen's Journal, December, 1936. Railway Clerk, December, 1936. Southern Labor Review, October 21, 1936. NEWSPAPERS Baltimore Evening Sun, November 10, 1936, "Find Coooerative Problems Clearer." The Dartmouth, October 22, 1936, "The Middle Way," H. Wentworth Eldredge. Des Meines Tribune, July 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, Extracts from "Sweden, the Middle Way," Marquis W. Childs. Other papers can arrange to print "Sweden, the Middle Way." in serial form by making arrangements with Yal? University Press. New York Herald Tribune, December 16. 1936, "Consumer Coooeratives Here to Stay, Sales Executives Told." November 20, 1936, "Are Cooperatives Effi cient," editorial. Minneapolis Journal, November 26, 1936, "Con sumers' Cooperatives," editorial. New York Post, November 2, 1936, "Cooperative Leader Warns Fascism Perils Democracy." November 28, 1936, "Scots Scatter Cash in U.S.—But Only to Cooperatives." New York Times. November 22, 1936, "Hail Co operatives As Nation's Ideal." January 4, 1937, "U. S. Again Eyeing Coopera tive Store." January 4, 1937, "1936 Best Year in Trade for Cooperative Group." New York World Telegram, December 19, 1936, Week-end Magazine Section, "New Yorkers Won't Cooperate," S. H. Walker and Paul Sklar. January 4, 1937, "Consumer Cooperatives Soundly Based, Says Credit Ass'n. Head." 16 REVIEWS American Interne, November, 1936, "Cooper r Medicine," review of "The Doctor an-i , Public." ä "* Christendom, Autumn, review of "Consumer r operation in America," Arthur E. Holt. ° Guild Reporter, January 2, 1936, review of "r operative Medicine." °' New York Times, January 3, 1937, "Denmark ' a Successful Cooperative Commonwealth " * review of "Denmark, the Cooperative V/a " Frederic C. Howe. '• Reviewn of "The Decline and Rise of the Co sumer," Horace M. Kallen, have appeared °' the following publications: Christian Reqister, Ortober 8, 1936, Dale DeWitt Christian Century, October 7, 1936, Llewellvn Jones. lyn New York Times, October 11, 1936, M. Lowell Gunzburg. New Republic, October 21. 1936, Herbert Fierst Opinion, December, 1936, Sidney Hook. Railway Carmen's Journal, November, 1936. Railroad Trainman, November, 1936. Saturday Review of Literature, September 19 1936, Bertram B. Fowler. Survey Graphic, December, 1936, Bertram B. Fowler. S^'-ial Frontier, November, 1936, Edmund deS. Brunner. New York Post, November 3, 1936, Harry Hansen. NEW BOOKS Several important new books on the cooperative movement has been published in the last few months. Since it is impossible to review them in this issue, we are listing below those which may be ordered now through The Cooperative League. The Peoples Year Book, 1937. Published by the Cooperative Wholesale Society, Manchester. England. Latest cooperative statistics on the movement in every country. 350 pages, doth cover $1.00, paper $.65. The Cooperative League Year Book, 1936, Edited by V. S. Alanne and Cecil R. Crews. The latesl available statistics on consumers cooperative associations in the United States. 260 pages, paper cover, $1.00. Denmark—The Cooperative Way, by Frederic C. Howe. A description of the Danish coopera tive movement as an alternative to Communism and Fascism. Coward McCann, 272 pages, J/JU Co-op, Upton Sinclair. A novel of living together. Cast in the realistic setting of a producers, sett- help" cooperative in California. Farrar ana Rinehart, 426 pages, $2.50. Democracy in Denmark, Josephine Goldmark an A. H. Hollman, translated by Alice G. Brande» A description of the cooperatives, social msui ance and folk high schools in Denmark. Nation« Home Library, 342 pages, 25c. . Folk High Schools of Denmark, Begtrup, W" and Manniche. Revised edition of a P°P" volume on Danish Folk Schools. Oxford " versity Press, 176 pages, $1.00. CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE • PLENTY- DEMOCRACY Volume XXIII. No. 2 FEBRUARY 1937 Ten Cents EDITORIALS "Cooperation is the tangible expression of brotherhood in action."—E. St. Elmo Lewis. • The "American Dream" looks forward neither to an autocracy of the privileged nor to a dictatorship of the proletariat. » Peace is not made primarily by gov ernments. Peace is made primarily by in dividuals who, in their daily dealings with their neighbors, conduct themselves in such a way as to create good feeling and friendship. Those who want world peace must themselves help build a peace ful personal and economic neighborhood where they live. » The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was told by John C. Parker, Vice-Président of the Consolidated Edi son Company of New York, at its winter convention in New York City on January 27. according to the newspaper account, mat the extension of electric power serv- >ce to the rural areas of the nation, a pro posal which is favored by President Koosevelt, is impractical and needless, 'his ought to encourage those who be- "eve that the only way by which our economic problems can be solved is by the people organizing cooperatives to do so, rather than depending upon the initia tive of private power companies. a We very much doubt the possibility of General Motors thousand-dollars-a-day quartet of executives, who are in charge of the strike situation, settling anything permanently with a group of employees who average less than a thousand dol lars a year. The essence of the General Motors Corporation strike is the question of how the consumers' dollars shall be divided between profits and pay rolls, with the consumers having nothing to say. But eventually they will be the ones who determine how their dollar's are di vided. • 'Late news flashes from Nova Scotia: "1937 looks like the best yet. The study club folks are going to do things this year. We have never been so hopeful.".—A. B. MacDonald, Assistant Director, Exten sion Department, St. F. X. University. "We are getting the miners to under stand that they must be as interested in the organization of the farmers and the voS= t0 spre^d the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, •whereby the people, in Puhr a88001*»11'»', purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. E p' p monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th Street, New York City. •_. '• Bower Editor. Wallace J. Campbell, Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative Educational Directors of Cooperative Wholesales and District Leagues. as Second Class Matter, December 19,1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March S, 1879. Price tl.OO a year. Consumers' Cooperation fishermen as they are in their own labor unions. I think we shall have a great come together before long.".—Dr. J. J. Tomp- kins. The Inaugural Address of President Roosevelt indicates an appreciation of the brutal realities of the present eco nomic situation. His concluding summa ry, "I see one-third of a nation ill housed, ill clothed, ill nourished," is, however, an understatement. The Brookings Institu tion study shows that two-thirds rather than one-third, of the families of America receive less than $2,000 a year, which is considered an absolute minimum to cover 'the bare necessities of an average size family. Other statements in the Inaugural address also indicate the President's ability to vision an idealistic future where this black picture will be painted out and every family will have abundance. But we are beyond the place, after seven long years since 1929, of merely picturing the brutal realities of (he present or the ideal possibilities of the future; we are to the place where we must learn more rapidly how to reorganize our distribution system to bridge the gulf be tween the age of scarcity and the age of plenty. Political action can help. But too much political control would eventually result in State dictatorship of one form or another. The necessity, as the President indicated, is to create "moral controls over the service of science," which can only be done by the people organizing themselves into cooperative retail asso ciations, affiliating with wholesales and developing on into production. • In his address before The Cooperative League Congress, Mr. I. H. Hull, Gen eral Manager of the Indiana Farm Bu reau Cooperative Association, made an observation relative to the significance to the farm producers of America of a well- developed consumers' cooperative move ment that was most vital. He indicated that he believed that the farmers of America might even profit more today by a well-organized movement among consumers than by a well-organized movement as producers. This statement, Mr. Hull added, was based upon his ob servations of the results to producers in Stockholm, Sweden, and Edinburgh, Scotland, which he visited on his trip to 18 Europe in 1934, where they were tributing milk for less than half costs in Indianapolis. The statistics which have been pre • ously published in Consumers' Coope '" tion, show that the savings made in fu" distributing cost of milk by the cooper ^ tives in those countries are even m0 " beneficial to the milk producers than f the milk consumers. The milk producer ' Edinburgh, for example, receives 7 cent*1 per quart for his milk, for which the con sumer pays 10% cents after deducting his patronage dividend, or in other words 67%. This is just the reverse of what the milk producer in the United States re ceives under a private-profit milk dis tribution system. We have repeatedly emphasized this point that only by faro producers encouraging and assisting jn the organization of their city consumers into cooperative purchasing associations and the elimination thereby of the middle man-monopoly in processing and dis tributing, will farm producers themselves ever get the prices which they must for their farm products. It is not simply altruism for farmers to encourage and assist in the organization of city con sumers into cooperatives, but practical self-help for themselves as farm pro ducers. • A newspaper report says that Mr. Charles C. Teague, President of the Cali fornia Fruit Growers Exchange, spoke enthusiastically for Agricultural coopera tives before a conference of the National Wholesale Grocers Association, but de clared that .such cooperatives would never sponsor or affiliate with consumers coop eratives. "Never" is a long time. While it is plain that today farm marketing coop eratives cannot affiliate to any great ex tent with city consumers' cooperatives be cause of the fact that there is so limited a development of the latter, we doubt if time will prove that Mr. Teague is a good prophet. We are publishing in this issue of the magazine a story relative to the joint arrangement between the pro ducers' marketing cooperatives and the consumers' purchasing cooperatives m IMalmo, Sweden, covering the handling of milk, which we would predict is a pa ' tern for future relationship between IUK two groups in the processing ai» ® ' tribution of all types of farm products. General Motors Corporation has , oac|cast a statement to the American blic in which it argues that the Pjjrase in the Declaration of Independ- P e "Life, liberty and the pursuit of f p'iness" implies that men possess "the •„alienable right to work." If we accept the interpretation by General Motors that very ^an ^as an inalienable right to work, then it logically follows that busi ness has upon its shoulders the inalien able obligation to provide work for every one. Certainly business must eventually accept its obligation not only to produce plenty but to provide jobs for everybody arid prevent poverty. • The Montgomery County Farm Bu reau Cooperative Association of Souder- town, Pennsylvania, writes requesting free pamphlets on the Consumers' Coop erative Movement to hand out at its bulk plant and also prices on pamphlets to be sold. It should be a part of the work of the employees of a retail cooperative associa tion to sell literature just as much as to sell commodities. If the members are thoroughly educated, which can best be done by individual reading and small group study circles, there will be no ques tion about loyalty of the members to the cooperative association and its business success. The thorough education of the membership is primary to the most suc cessful business development of a coop erative association. • Tentative plans are being laid for a Cooperative Tour to Nova Scotia during next August. Late reports are that 'everything's leaping" up there. Study dubs have increased to some fourteen or fifteen hundred. Credit unions are devel oping out of the study clubs. Cooperative stores are springing up. The suggestion is made by Dr. M. M. Coady, Director o the Extension Department of St. F. X. University, that they might conduct a |hree-day Cooperative Institute the latter half of a week, which would allow the rst °f the week for American visitors to a"lv« there. After the three-day institute, *™ch would give every one a general unoerstanding of cooperative develop ments, the group would spend the follow- "9 week making, tours to the different points where they could meet with the study clubs and see the credit unions, stores, lobster and fish factories, etc.^ which have developed. Then the follow ing week on Tuesday and Wednesday, they would come back to the University and attend the annual conference of study club and cooperative business leaders, which would allow the latter part of the week to return home. This would mean approximately two weeks in Nova Scotia itself from the time of arrival to the time of departure. Those who are interested in taking such a tour should write to The League and further details will be fur nished in due time in the event there is enough interest to warrant arranging for the tour. • Many complimentary expressions have been received relative to the sixteen page Teaching Section on the Cooperative Movement in the January issue of the Journal of the National Education Asso ciation. In Detroit, the Chairman of a Forum who was the principal of a school, stated that 10,000 copies of the Journal had gone into the hands of teachers in that city. 215,000 copies were distributed to subscribers. If the contents of the Co operative Section had been printed sepa rately and mailed to that number of teachers, we would estimate the cost would have been at least $10,000. The effect, however, would not have been anywhere near as great as when the mat ter was incorporated as a part of the magazine itself and carried as a foreword this favorable introductory statement by Joy Elmer Morgan, Editor: "The Cooperative Movement is of the people, by (he people and for the people. It serves every type of human need, both eco nomic and cultural. It thrives in every country where freedom is not entirely destroyed. It •removes the causes of war and of internal' strife. To a world disheartened by unemploy ment and torn by war, it offers a peaceful' pathway toward a better civilization. The Co operative Movement gives people a sense of responsibility for (heir own destinies. It is B- most powerful form of education; people learn by doing; (hey develop faith in themselves and in each other. Tlhe Cooperative Move ment is the practical application of the Golden, Rule; it is (he ultimate democracy." The Cooperative League now has- available reprints of this sixteen page Teaching Unit which can be supplied at a cost of ten cents each. Consumers' Cooperation Ftbruaryf 19 A NEW ADVANCE IN COOPERATIVE EDUCATION (Editor's note: We believe the following to be •one of the most important cooperative education articles we (have ever read. It emphasizes the superiority of study-circles as the best method of member education ever discovered. It is repro duced from the Review of International Coopera tion, December, 1936, to which only a few of our readers are subscribers. We strongly urge the or ganization of study circles by every cooperative association.) IN the field of education new paths are often revealed by rediscovery of old truths. Within the past twelve months signs have been multiplying that in many countries the National Movements have begun to make a new advance towards the solution of that perennial problem, the cooperative education of the rank and file of the members. Led by the trend of events, and forced by current contro versy to seek for the real foundations of order, liberty and democracy in modern life, cooperators have rediscovered the Vital importance of this education, entire ly distinct from propaganda, as a gene rator of the moral and intellectual energy without which cooperative institutions, however firm their economic foundation, can neither stand nor flourish. Evidence for the new advance is discernible in the adoption of a new educational instru ment, the Study Circle, in new definitions of educational aims and objectives, and, in particular, in the desire for an actively participating rather than a passively loyal membership. Furthermore, there are becoming visible broader conceptions of the Movement's educational purpose, which recognize that, apart from the kind of education Cooperation can provide, no satisfactory solution of the most acute problems of modern citizenship is pos sible. Study Circles Proven First, as to the instrument. The Study Circle has now definitely passed beyond the experimental stage. Its practicability has been proved; its advantages are now recognized. The seed cultivated so as- 20 W. P. Watkins, B A Co-author of the QfL', British Text Book "Cooperation» siduously in Sweden and in Nova Scoti has been found capable of transplanta tion, and the organization of Study Cir cles is assuming a role of increasing importance in the Cooperative educa tional schemes of two continents. The work of the St. Francis Xavier Universi ty amongst the farming and fishing popu lation in northern Nova Scotia has been closely studied on the spot and is being enthusiastically emulated by The Coop erative League in the United States. The Swiss Cooperative Union (V.S.K.) after two winters of experiment by two of its Regional Federations, formally adopted the Study Circle as part of its educa tional system by resolution of its 1936 Congress, and is now urging the forma tion of circles in all its affiliated societies. In Denmark, Study Circles are encour aged in the Cooperative Press and as sisted by special publications prepared by the Cooperative School. Among other countries where they have attracted serious attention are Great Britain. Bel gium and Austria, and experimental work is now in progress. Rank and File Education The reasons are clear. There is no other form of organization which offers half so many advantages as the Study Circle, as a means of bringing real co operative education to the mass of the Movement's membership. Its great ad vantage is precisely that it does place education within the reach of the rank and file of the membership in the locali ties where they live and work. lne Movement's educational, no less than its business activities, must have local foun dations. Only an infinitesimal fraction of the membership can sacrifice time ana earnings to be taught in central insütu- tions. , i0 Moreover, Study Circles, since they o not require the presence of a teacher, ^ be organized with comparative ease^ rapidly increased in numbers. Consumers' Cooperatio« the traditional methods of the lecture A class, some National Unions, after anjccade of propaganda for education, 8 n only bring together a few hundred c dents in a few score of centres, the Swedish Union, after three or four years' work with Study Circles, was able to ufflber the circles in thousands, and the participants in tens of thousands. At the Line time, if the foundations are local, there must be a national, or at least, a re- qinal plan °f w°rk, and to this the Study Circle lends itself. The present is no time {or parochial, piecemeal methods of edu cational organization. It is the essence of the problem that the number of active Cooperators should be quickly multiplied tenfold. Much of the apathy imputed to the membership is not so much indif ference as passivity, due to the fact that they have never been shown how, apart from loyalty in purchasing and saving, they can exert themselves on behalf of their Society and the cause of Coopera tion in general. Cooperation in Education The superiority of the Study Circle, however, does not rest on numbers alone, but also on the quality of the education it provides. Cooperative organizations which still fear to exchange the lecture and class for the Study Circle on grounds of efficiency, are clinging to the shadow and rejecting the substance. Discussion, the method of learning adopted in Study Circles, is cooperation in education, whereby much more is learned than the subjects comprised in the syllabus. While it is necessary that the members should learn about Cooperation, it is even more important that they should learn to co operate, that is to work together success fully for common ends. Over and above the fact the participants master their sub ject more thoroughly because they collect their own information and their state ments are subject to criticism and contra diction from their comrades, they benefit «om the self-discipline which successful group activity imposes. It is because group study is an active quest for knowl- edge and enlightenment that it forms, as experience has shown in Nova Scotia, the Oest preparation for useful practical work " the formation and administration of ^operative Societies. Trains Candidates for Leadership No less important is the contribution which Study Circles can make to the problems of leadership. Most of the Na tional Movements recognize the necessity for training officers and office-holders. Not all of them, however, have yet fully grasped that this training ought to begin before, and not after, their election. In other words, the aim should be to in crease the number of eligible candidates. Here again, experience has shown that the Study Circles can discover and devel op the appropriate kind of leadership. A correspondent of The London Times, in a remarkable article contributed to its Educational Supplement the 1st of Au gust, 1936, describing the work of the St. Francis Xavier University, wrote: "The University Extension Department is out to develop a Cooperative Com monwealth ~ and the leaders of this Movement must corae from the people. Its organizers believe that there is a mass of undiscovered leadership among the common people, and that the way to make it visible and operative is to educate the people, old and young. Leadership, they say, is lacking merely because of the absence of opportunity. The place to be gin for those of good intent is at their own doors, "and they must learn to act with and for others while they do their own thinking!" The Ohio Farm Bureau, in its pamphlet on the organization of discussion groups, has illustrated by means of amusing caricatures the three undesirable types and the one effective type of group leader. These are respec tively the dictator, who expects the mem bers to recognize his natural superiority; the lecturer, who is over-anxious to pour information into the minds of the group; the mirror type, who is agreeable, un critical, non-committal and reflects back to the members the contributions they have made; and finally, the truly cooper ative leader, who gives and takes, im parting direction to discussion by ques tions and suggestions, and who has patience with slow results because he is more concerned that the group seeks the way to the cooperative solution of the problem then that the members shall dis tinguish themselves individually. These types of leadership may be easily recog nized in many other spheres of social life than Study Circles, but it is precisely be- 21 cause the latter bring the problems of leadership so clearly into focus that they form so valuable a means of cooperative and civic training. Pills Need Not Supplied by Press and Platform The Cooperative Movement has often been inclined to rely too much for the education of its members upon the effect of its press and propaganda activities. That both of these, while serving other purposes, make contributions of educa tional value, is obvious. It is significant, liowever, that the two National Move ments in Europe which have so far most enthusiastically adopted the Study Circle, already possessed excellent cooperative technical and family journals circulating amongst virtually the whole of their membership, besides carrying on efficient propaganda work by means of films and other up-to-date methods. Something more concentrated, systematic and last ing in its effects than propaganda meet ings and the casual reading of journals is necessary. This is what the Study Circle •supplies. Moreover, the work of the press only yields its full value when there are eager and active minds waiting to receive and apply the idea which the journals discuss week by week, and month by month. As experience in both Sweden and Nova Scotia shows, the study groups provide the press with an increasingly intelligent circle of readers, while the journals furnish the groups with the fresh information which gives their studies life and actuality. In addition, the needs of the Study Circles are calling into exist ence a new type of cooperative literature. This comprises not only the study- guides, complete with outline, questions and references required for the courses, but also small handbooks which give a brief but comprehensive view of an im portant aspect of Cooperation. Larger and less summary in their treatment of the subject than a pamphlet, they are not so exhaustive as most of the standard treatises and text books formerly used, and enable the student to acquire a firm •grasp of the elements of the subject with out being overwhelmed with details. Combines the Practical and Ideal The problem of every kind of coopera tive education is to discover the right 22 blend of the theoretical with the practical of the ideal with the technical. So far ' the membership is concerned, the aim fS be kept in view is first, an understandin° of the fundamental principles of Coopp ation, and second, training in the prone" discharge of the members' functions1 which naturally include service on one o' another of the committees, not of the local society alone, but even of National Federations. The first requires keen and logical thinking, the second an acquaint ance with the structure of the Movement and the technique of its administration What the Movement needs, and what the Study Circles can do much to supply, js members who can both think for them selves and act effectively in concert, be cause they know when to subordinate the claims of the individual or section to the welfare of the whole. It may not be pos sible to imbue the whole membership with the same degree of practical wisdom and social responsibility, but the aim of the cooperative educationist must be to create in every locality a nucleus of members who possess these qualities and whose in fluence shall be pervasive and dominant. This nucleus will not form, like the guar dians in Plato's "Republic," a specialized caste with a monopoly of leadership, since the existence of Study Circles open to every member alike will ensure that it will be continually recruited and renewed from the rank and file of Cooperators. Maintains Democratic Control It is along lines such as these that the cooperative educationist can best make his contribution to the maintenance of the democratic character of the Move ment. This is no easy task, as the Move ment's economic expansion constantly de mands an increasing centralization of authority and a more complex adminis tration. The problem, however, cannot be solved merely by amendments to statutes. The most skillfully drafted constitution can be destroyed by ignorance, faction, and disloyalty to principle. Education must advance in scope and efficiency step by step with economic development, so that the Movement demonstrates ever more clearly the ability of the common people to control wisely the factors ol their own welfare. At the present time, when democratic ideals both in govern ment and industry are suffering from tn ftacks of authoritarian systems and the of democrats to work together, '?a e can be scarcely a better means of ' fequarding the future of Cooperation j £jje democratic principle than a new Avance in cooperative education along ft, lin£S 'here indicated. Cooperation, democracy, and liberty can only flourish in the modern world where the people have learned to direct the economic and administrative mechanism on which their livelihood and well-being depend. Study Circles are an economical and effective means to that end. MALMÖ, SWEDEN, SOLVES ITS MILK DISTRIBUTION PROBLEM (Editor'8 note: The question of the solution of the milk distribution problem in suclh a way as to pay fair prices to producers and charge fair prices to consumers is one of the burning questions in fte United States. Mr. James C. Norgaard, Gen eral Manager, Nebraska Farmers Union Cream eries, was a member of the 1936 Cooperative League Tour to Europe. He has written an article in the Nebraska Union Farmer of January 13, in which he describes in detail the successful solution of the milk question by joint organization of pro ducers' marketing and consumers' purchasing co operatives in Malmö, Sweden. It goes without say ing that a similar solution cannot be arrived at in the case of American cities until consumers' coop erative purchasing groups develop to the extent whereby they can make similar joint arrangements with producers' cooperative marketing ciroups. However, in addition to tihe outstanding illustra tion of the large Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association of Minneapolis, there are smaller illus trations, such as the cooperatives at Waukegan and Evanston, Illinois, and elsewhere, where similar arrangements to that described below in the case of Malmö, Sweden, have been made be tween city consumers' cooperative groups and farm producers' cooperative groups. JT has always been a question in the ••• cooperative movement how the con sumers' and producers' associations can establish working connections. This is a ticklish problem. Naturally, the consumer wants to buy from producers as cheaply as possible, and the producers to sell as »iflh as possible. In Sweden, as in some other countries, there has been, and is yet. quite a problem as to where con sumer cooperation ends and producer co- operi.tion begins. In Malmö, a city in the southern part Sweden, the cooperative consumer so ciety purchased a dairy and began dis tributing the milk through its stores, while the farmers' cooperative society naa a dairy in Malmö, delivering milk to Consumers' Cooperation ^bruary, 1937 James C. Norgaard General Manager Nebraska Farmers Union Creameries the consumers in that city. The result was a lively battle and low prices of milk to the consumers. Inasmuch as the con sumers owned the dairy, they lost money, and the farmers who were selling to their own organization also lost money. This condition brought about a meet ing of the two organizations, and they solved the problem by organizing a creamery company, taking over both plants. A half interest was owned by the consumer cooperative society, and the other half interest was owned by the pro ducer cooperative society, To the com mittee of the joint concern, the con sumers' and the farmers' association each elect four representatives, the manager also having a seat on the board. The share capital has also been equally con tributed by the two sides. Equal Rights—Equal Responsibility The terms of the agreement provide that neither party need give up its inde pendence, but both enter the undertaking with the same rights and equal responsi bilities. According to the agreement, the original concerns are rented by the Milk Central for a period of 10 years against leases that well provide for interest and depreciation, and which contribute to a fund for the redemption of the separate undertakings after the 10-year period, should joint working then be discontin ued. Prices for the farmers' supplies are ar ranged on a sliding scale in relation to the butter quotation, while one-third of the Milk Central's trading surplus also 23 goes to the farmers in the form of a sup plementary payment. One-third of the trading surplus goes to the consumers, and one-third is allocated to a reserve fund. Five years' activity has consolidated the Milk Central as Malmö's largest dai ry undertaking. From 48,000 liters (12,- 700 gallons) per day in 1929, the total supplies rose to 55,000 liters (14,575 gal lons) per day in 1933, and there has been continued progress since that. Of real importance is the harmony which the undertaking has brought about between the consumers and produce who share the direction and profits QS' the one hand, the consumers have ob* tained better and cheaper milk. On th" other hand, the producers have an a$ sured market, and equal share in th" savings. Through the Malmö arrangement, th greatest possible measure of justice is sg6 cured for both sides, not by dictation from one or the other, but by straight forward business relations, with the con sumers and producers on an equal foot- ing. THE TRIPLE PROGRAM OF THE BRITISH LABOR MOVEMENT (An epitome of an address delivered at a forum in Tampa, Florida, by George Gibson, one of the two British delegates to the 1936 A. F. of L. Con vention, member of the General Council of the British Trade Union Congress, and member of the National Council of Labour. The day will come in America, when labor leaders will discuss equally as fluently the organi zation of workers as consumers to control prices as the organization of workers as producers to control pay. In the meanwhile, we are happy to have British labor leaders such as Mr. George Gibson visit America and challenge American labor leadership as to the significance of the con sumers cooperative movement. Arrangements for the address delivered by Mr. Gibson, which he has kindly epitomized for Consumers' Cooperation, were made by James Myers, Industrial Secretary of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America.) THE British Labour Movement in its contemporary work acts in three fields. In the industrial field through Trade Union organization; in the political field through the Labour Party; and in the economic field through the Coopera tive Societies. It was not deliberately de signed in this fashion; rather like "Top- sy," it grew, and it shaped itself to meet changing conditions and altered circum stances. The Trade Union Movement The British Trade Union Movement has been the creator of each of these forms of Labour activity, and the Trade Union Movement itself was a gradual evolution from the early forms of craft protection. Working class combinations 24 George Gibson Member of the General Council British Trade Union Congress existed in Great Britain from the time of the Guilds, and in the eighteenth century protective organization was found amongst a considerable number of the skilled trades, but during the period of the industrial revolution when the factory system was growing, the gospel of trades unionism found acceptance amongst the factory operatives and coal miners of the North of England. In spite of severe at tempts at repression and tyrannical punishment, the Unions maintained their existence even when on occasion driven to meet in secret, and there are several British Trade Unions with long and honourable histories whose written rec ords recall these days of oppression. The National Union of Vehicle Builders rec ords that its members have, during the Union's existence, built every kind of conveyance from the sedan chair to the aeroplane. The Beginning of Cooperation The trade unions within the limits of their powers, and by the policy of col lective bargaining, did muc'h to raise the standard of living of their members, but they found that wage value depends not upon the number of dollars or pounds a person gets, but on what he can purchase with his dollars. Trade Unionists found that the dis tribution of the goods and services pro duced by labour led to the accumulation Consumers' Cooperation t wealth on the one hand and to re- • ted consumption on the other; and, strlCefflbering the pioneer efforts of Ro- 'em. Qwen, twenty-eight poor weavers Rochdale, Lancashire, founded the p hda'le Equitable Pioneer's Society in ir° d Lane, Rochdale, where they ened on Christmas Eve, 1844. The broad general principles of the Society (which are now historic) were to buy nods at wholesale prices, to sell to mem- jjers at market prices, and to distribute the surplus (after allowing a fixed pay ment for capital) as a discount on pur- hases. Full weight and measure had to he qiven, highest qualities maintained, fair conditions of labour guaranteed, and an allocation made from the funds for educational purposes. From the one pio neer society has sprung the immense Co operative Movement of today, but to this I will return later. The British Labour Party The great Londo:-: Dock Strike of 1889, the strike for 6d. an hour ("The Docker's tanner") led by Ben Tillett, Harry Or- bell, Tom Mann and John Burns, and the great trade union movement amongst the Gas-workers led by Will Thorne widened the whole basis of trade union ism which spread to the great mass of unskilled and semi-skilled labour and to a quickening of the pulse of Trade Union ism and a desire for social legislation. In 1899 a resolution was carried at the British Trade Union Congress "for the purpose of devising ways and means for securing an increased number of Labour members to the next Parliament." The special Congress was held on February 27th, 1900, a resolution was carried in favour of a "distinct Labour Group in Parliament," and so the Labour Party was formed. In 1906 twenty-nine Labour members were returned, and the years between 1906 and 1914, saw a mass of social legislation passed, all designed to improve *e lot of the working class. Since 1919, 'he Labour Party has twice taken office, buj it has never yet held office with an independent majority such as all of us nope for. . The Trinity of Labour is allied closely ™ all activities. The Council of Labour, *tach represents the Labour Party, the rarliamentary Labour Party, and the F«bruary, 1937 Trades Union Congress coordinates the work of these bodies, and contacts are separately maintained with the Coopera tive Union and the Cooperative Party. Cooperation as an Entity Now let me explain how Cooperation has developed in Great Britain. The Cooperative Retail Societies of Great Britain have over seven and a half million members who, with their families represent more than half of the nation organized as buyers, consumers, and users of goods and services. The members own the Movement, they rule and direct the Movement thrsugh elected repre sentatives, and they provide the Market for the Movement. They own their own stores, ware houses, factories, workshops, coal-mines, etc. Cooperation in Great Britain is now the biggest distributor, biggest miller, biggest baker, biggest tea-merchant, dai ryman, furniture maker, boot and shoe maker, biggest grocery and provision dealer. Cooperation owns its own weekly newspaper, "Reynolds News." In 1935 the Movement employed 300,- 000 workers, all of whom who are eligible have to be Trade Unionists, receive trade union rates of wages, have holidays with pay, part pay during sickness, and half of whom are covered by pension schemes. In 1935 the trade transacted by the Movement amounted to over a billion .dollars. Cooperation in Britain runs an Insur ance Society, and most of its members are covered by free insurance, but, of course, may take out such personal policies as they wish. Cooperation has its own bank which transacts business not only for the Move ment and its members, but for nearly all the Trade Unions. When ultimately the time comes, as it must and will come, when Labour and Cooperation take control of Britain, when not half of the population, but all of them are cooperators, then we shall see a na tion in which poverty and destitution will no longer exist, where exploitation will no longer be tolerated — a Cooperative Commonwealth owned by the people, run by the people, for the people. 25 THE FINAL SOLUTION OF FARM TENANCY A SAD commentary on the failure of the American people to realize the gradual growth of economic disintegra tion is the fact that only now has the na tional government appointed a Commit tee on Farm Tenancy, after 2,800,000 or over 42% of American farmers, have be come tenants. In a radio broadcast on January 22, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace listed these results of farm tenancy: "The growth of farm tenancy means a growing insecurity and instability in rural life. It operates against better education, and against cooperation. Moving time for tenants usually comes in the middle of the school year, often disrupting whole classes, and handicapping the children in tlheir education. Tenant farmers, not knowing whether they will long remain in (he community, are poor material with which to form cooperatives. The church and other community enterprises suffer as well. A stable rural civilization can not be built on the basis of a floating popula tion." Secretary Wallace then declared that land distribution alone was no solution: "Merely to place farmers on lands of their own, will not bring about security of tenure. Our history proves that. We gave away about two hundred and eiglhty million acres of land to tlhe families of homesteaders during the past seventyfive years. A higlh percentage of (hose same farms are today operated by tenants. It seems essential that some plan be devised to prevent families from losing their farms through speculation, excessive mortgage debt, and final foreclosure." : What is, then, the final solution to the farm tenancy question? Fortunately Den mark has shown the way. They likewise reached the place where 42% of the farmers were tenants. They adopted legislation to promote individual farm ownership and then organized marketing .cooperatives, purchasing cooperatives ,and credit cooperatives to keep the re turns from their farming operations in their own pockets, in, order to insure per manent possession of their farms. As a result, the latest official report says, "There is no longer any farm tenancy in Denmark." The President's Tenancy Committee may well investigate and publicize the facts, and assist in arousing the American people to the dangers of farm tenancy; 26 the government may well legislat change the trend from tenancy bade 'C individual farm ownership; but the f 'C ers themselves, through organizing CQ1"1" erative marketing, purchasing and c °l" associations, must finally solve the n K lern of the elimination of farm tenanr the United States. Cy » MIDLAND'S TEN YEARS THE first ten years of the first coon erative oil wholesale in America surely worthy of special mention. J\* condensed story can be read on the from page of the January issue of the Midland Cooperator, published by Midland Co operative Wholesale, Minneapolis, Min nesota. You will find there both the story Of their business development and the story of their educational development—de monstrating again that education and business must accompany one another like Siamese Twins, in order to promote the soundest and most rapid progress of a cooperative association. The summarized business statistics of the ten years tell of the development of the capital structure to approximately a quarter of a million dollars, every cent of which has been accumulated from sav ings; the increase of the membership to 152 retail cooperatives; the progress from the desk of General Manager E. G. Cort in rented quarters, to ownership of two large warehouses in Minneapolis and Milwaukee; the increase in volume to ap proximately three million dollars; all in the short period of ten years. The story of the educational program tells of the promotion of an "Advanced Institute on Cooperation" at Grand View College, Des Moines, Iowa, attended by representatives of several cooperative wholesales; a four weeks "Institute for Cooperative Management" at the New Center for Continuation Study at the University of Minnesota; Circuit Schools for members held in 23 localities; the ini tiation of a Youth Camp program. No prophet could have predicted what | has happened in the first ten years oj Midland's development; no prophet could now predict what may be the results at the end of the second ten years, when such strong educational and commercia foundations have been laid. CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVES IN ACTION Wianapolis-The Indiana Farm Bit- Cooperative Association broke its rf000 000 quota in 1936 when the total I me of gas, oil, farm supplies and t ? commodities handled, mounted to «187457. an increase of $783,000 or 16 rent over its sales in 1935. Savings of 'S wholesale grew from $110,000 to tJ31 000 in 1936. The cooperative is now vi'nq 92 retail cooperative associations in Indiana. North Kansas City, Missouri — Con sumers Cooperative Association, organ- •z£d in 1929 with six retail oil coopera tives as members, added 29 new retail cooperatives to its membership and $1,- 110,000 to its volume in 1936. Now serv ing 342 member cooperatives in eight central western states, C.C.A. boosted its business from $2,646,861 in 1935 to $3,756,395 in 1936, a gain of 41 per cent. Columbus, Ohio — Contracts for con struction of 620 miles of cooperative power lines were completed in January. Cooperative lines in Champaign, Loraine, Medina and Holmes counties were ener gized; several new projects were ap proved in Washington and the coopera tive electrification in the state in general moved forward rapidly. With 2000 farm homes already using power from newly erected cooperative power lines it is es timated that nearly 10,000 Ohio farms will be served with cooperative electrici ty before the end of the year. Amarillo, Texas—So many members of cooperatives affiliated with Consumers Cooperatives Associated come to Ama rillo to do their shopping that the coop erative wholesale has set up a coopera tive service station to serve them. Pat ronage dividends on the business done in Amarillo is paid to members through 'heir local cooperatives. Greeley, Colorado ~ The Consumers , Company, which lays substantial «aim to the title of the "largest local co operative oil association in the United states, increased its sales of gasoline to approximately 2,000,000 qallons and paid 6 ^idends of $111,644 in e co-op has 1,900 members. Dur- Consumers' Cooperation February, 1937 ing its sixteen years of operation it has paid back to its members $864,419 as savings on purchases. Albert Lea, Minnesota—Half of Free- born County's 1600 cooperators sat down to a community supper January 19 to celebrate the opening twelve years ago of their gas and oil cooperative and "cut a mellon" accumulated from savings on purchases made through their coopera tive. Two hundred and seventy-five car loads of commodities came into the coun- tv during the first 11 months of the year. Thanks to the cooperative, no retail profits went out. On the $318,000 busi ness for the current year, the members of the co-op saved and repaid themselves $22,794. In its twelve years of operation the cooperative has handled $2,935,000 worth of goods and returned to its mem bers $295,000. In addition to the savings paid directly to the members, the coop erative has accumulated assets of $139,- 000 and shows a net worth of $118,000. Dillonvale, Ohio—The New Coopera tive Company ended the year with a volume of business which totaled $639,- 000, the largest in the co-ops history. After setting aside ample reserves the co operative distributed nearly $8,000 to its members in patronage dividends. The Neffs Cooperative Store, which was an independent cooperative until it affiliated with the New Cooperative Company in 1933, celebrated its Silver Anniversary November 29. Three hun dred members of the cooperative attended the banquet in celebration of the 25th Anniversary. Joseph Blaha, manager of the New Cooperative Company and a director of The Cooperative League of the USA, praised the progress of the co operative during its long history and de clared that the slowness of the coopera tive movement in other sections of the country was due to the individualistic philosophy taught in the schools and col leges of the United States. "Now a change has come and schools are .putting cooperative studies in their curriculums, which should cause the movement to ex pand by leaps and bounds." 27 Los Angeles, California — The Coop erative Education Association has been created by members of cooperative asso ciations in Southern California to carry on an aggressive program of cooperative education to strengthen the work of ex isting co-ops and spread the "gospel of Rochdale cooperation" in that section. Headquarters will be maintained at 338 North Citrus, Whittier, California. Cleveland—Seeking to follow the foot steps of the Cooperative Trading Com pany in Gary, a group of Negroes here have organized the Wage Earners Coop erative Services. The co-op has buying club contracts on groceries, cleaning and pressing and coal, but is moving forward slowly, aware of the necessity of inten sive education for the success of their venture. Columbus, Ohio ~ Farmers Week at the Ohio State University featured dis cussions of the consumers cooperative movement led by James P. Warbasse, president of The Cooperative League of the U.S.A., Ivan Lanto, manager, Na tional Cooperatives, Inc., and Murray D. Lincoln, secretary, Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Ass'n. Happy, Texas—The Consumers Sup ply Company, organized in 1929, has brought many a cheery smile to members of this peaceful Texas community. Dur ing the last three years $24,000 in pat ronage dividends have been paid back to members of the cooperative. Business which has been growing steadily since the inception of the co-op boomed from $108,000 in 1935 to $161,000 last year, an increase of 49 per cent. New York — "Sweden—'The Middle Way" by Marquis W. Childs, already credited with sending a commission to Europe to study cooperatives, and con sistently a year's "best seller," was unani mously chosen by the Literary Advisory Board of Current History as one of the Ten Outstanding Non-fiction Books of 1936. Asilomar, California —• Five hundred students from colleges in the Pacific Southwest and Hawaii, gathered here for a Christmas week conference on 28 "Christian Living and its Relation to 9 cial and Economic Problems," \verp- troduced to consumers coopérât'"1" George Burcham, director of Pacific f D' operative Services, Oakland, and exe ° tive secretary of Wesley Foundation011' the University of California, led the d'3' eussions on the cooperative movement Pasadena, California — The follow;,, resolution on cooperatives was passed h^ the American Farm Bureau Federation \ its annual meeting here December 11 1936: "' We reaffirm the Federation's active suppo of farmer cooperative marketing institutio and farmer cooperative purchasing organiz tions \vithin the field of commodities entérina into the cost of farm operations. ™ The development of what has been termed consumer cooperatives is relatively new in the United States and since the Commission ap pointed by (he President to make an intensive study of the experience of such cooperatives operating in Europe over a number of years has not yet reported, it is believed advisable that the American Farm Bureau Federation should not adopt any definite policy on this subject until after the Commission has made its report to the President and the Federation fcas an opportunity to give it consideration. We recommend the appointment of a com mittee from within the Board of Directors to continue the study of this important subject and to make its report to the Board of Di rectors on a statement of policy, as soon as a comprehensive study may be completed. Farm Bureau Cooperatives in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania purchased more than $12,000,000 worth of gas, oil and farm supplies through con sumers cooperatives affiliated with the Farm Bureau Oil Company in 1935. New York — Three major New York colleges have added special courses on consumers cooperation to their curricula for the spring term and New York's "city folk school" has announced a special summer school for prospective coopera tive leaders. Teachers College, Columbia ^niversi- ty, will conduct its course on "The Co operative Movement" from March 8 through April 26. The instructors will to' | elude Edmund deS. Brunner, Frank W- Cyr and H. F. Clark of the staff « Teachers College with Dr. Horace M- Kallen, Dora Maxwell, Sara Patrick, L W. Manty and Wallace J. Campbell as special lecturers. Consumers' Coopéra^«1 The New School for Social Research j a 15 week course on "The Phi- °Pel\v Of Consumption" February 1, IOSt°h D'- Horace M. Kallen, author of *The Decline and Rise of the Consumer" i a fflember of the board of directors 3f Consumers Cooperative Services, as ° tructor. Consumers' Cooperative Serv- !nss arranged with the school for a.spe- "i j rate for cooperative members at one third the usual rate. Over fifty addi tional students registered for the course. New York University, division of gen- ral education, has scheduled a course on "Cooperative Economy" for its division at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn YMCA to open February 9. Dr. Arthur E Albrecht, department of economics, College of the City of New York, has been asked to conduct the course. The American Peoples School last week announced its second annual Coop erative Leadership Summer School to be held in New York City July 5 through August 28. The course will be under the direction of Anthony Lehner, education director, Indiana Farm Bureau Coopera tive Ass'n, and will include field work in New York's cooperatives in addition to classes on cooperative economics, organi zation and management, philosophy and educational methods. Merlin Miller, now educational director of Consumers Co operative Association, North Kansas Ci ty, conducted a similar course last year. New York —• "America's Town Meet ing of the Air" in its nation-wide broad cast on "Consumers' Cooperatives and Private Business" brought together one of the largest studio audiences and one of their largest mail responses of the year. The strength of the Consumers' Coop erative movement was not only indicated by the statistics given by Murray D. Lincoln, secretary of the Ohio Farm Bu reau Cooperatives, but likewise by the weakness of the presentation of the op position. A summary of the argument by J- Frank Grimes, president of the Inde pendent Grocers Alliance, could be stated as the acceptance of cooperative pur chasing by farmers but opposition to co- °perative purchasing by city consumers as. destroying "individual initiative and Private property." What type of logic an justify cooperative purchasing by armers and condemn cooperative pur- J'y, 1937 chasing by city residents is something we cannot fathom. Mr. Lincoln rightly answered that, instead of destroying in dividual initiative and private property, exactly the reverse is true, that coopera tives restore individual initiative and pri vate property which competitive business has largely destroyed. Mr. Grimes also declared that cooperatives lower prices by lowering wages, when the statistics prove that they both raise wages and lower prices. As usual, opposition brings out the truth about the cooperative movement all the more clearly. One correspondent writes that he never realized so clearly the simplicity and truthfulness of the ar guments for Consumers' Cooperation and the half truths or wholly false arguments of the opposition. CITY COOPERATIVES New York—'Some of the outstanding developments in the cooperative move ment in the East in 1936 as summarized in the Eastern League Cooperator in cluded: Completion of an ultra modern branch store at Maynard, Massachusetts; a retail food shop opened as a branch of Con sumers' Cooperative Services in connec tion with its cooperative cafeteria on West 10th Street, New York City; a die sel power plant installed at the 650 family Amalgamated Cooperative Houses, Van Cortlandt Park, New York City, as an answer to the power trust's threat to cancel a contract which had saved mem bers of the cooperative $10,000 a year; a branch store at Caldwell, New Jersey, op erated by the New Jersey Consumers Co operative, which had grown in one year from a study club to a buying club and then to a cooperative store; a cooperative store at Kearney, New Jersey, organized by 350 Scots, most of whom had had co operative experience in Scotland; incor poration of the Triple Cities Oil Coop erative at Binghamton, New York; ex pansion of the Knickerbocker Village co operative in Manhattan's largest limited dividend housing project to include 200 families doing $1400 business a month; growth of Washington, D. C., co-ops to include Konsum, a gasoline cooperative 29 pumping 1,500 gallons a week, a grocery service with a $500 a week volume and collective purchasing contracts on coal, milk, books, clothing and jewelry; evolu tion of cooperative clubs in Rutherford, New Jersey, Brooklyn Heights, New York, Ithaca, New York, and Hanover, New Hampshire into full-fledged coop erative stores. Eastern Cooperative Wholesale's ex pansion program added 100 co-op label items to its stock and the total number of cooperatives served mounted to 129. The wholesale moved to larger quarters, opened a branch in Boston and boosted its business to $285,000, an increase of 38%. Chicago — Consumers' Cooperative Services in Hyde Park, trebled its sales in four months. September sales of ,$2,240 grew to $6,700 in December. The volume of business in fresh vegetables and meats grew to such proportions that a new delivery truck was added and patronage savings hovered around 10 per cent. The Evanston Consumers Cooperative pushed sales from $2,700 in November to $3,400 for December with indications that January business would far exceed any total of the old year. Membership has reached 320 and three full time workers, with two part time assistants are unable to take care of the volume. A collective purchasing contract with a service sta tion across the way is expected to event ually lead to a cooperative gas station as well. At Oak Park the Consumers Coopera tive concluded its first eight months of operation having handled $10,100 worth of commodities, of which $1,225 was ac counted for by December sales. Members of Consumers Cooperative Clothiers, 42 of them, bought $2,500 worth of Stylebuilder suits and overcoats in the six months period ending Decem ber 31 and an additional $299 worth of sox, ties and handkerchiefs, on which they paid themselves a 6 per cent patronage dividend. Five credit unions have been organ ized by five of the cooperatives affiliated with the Chicago Cooperative Federa tion and a sixth is now applying for a charter. More than 200 credit unions are now in operation in Chicago. 30 The Chicago Cooperative Fede« has opened a headquarters in thel"1 district, 417 Dearborn Street, with Q P ence R. Haize, educational directe f the Federation, in charge. r '* The Cooperative Wholesale, operaf - in connection with the Central States C operative League, 3954 W. 27th St reports that eight new cooperatives h^ been organized within the territory of a? wholesale at Galesburg, Rockford »A Jacksonville, Illinois; Gary, South B A and Muncie, Indiana; Grand Junrr Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio. °n' Minneapolis—Thirteen hundred Twin City coal consumers are now purchasinn the "winter supply" through their own Cooperative Coal Association. In the fall of 1934 the coal co-op was organized with the aid of Midland Cooperative Wholesale, of which the Cooperative Coal Association is a member. Provision was made for any consumer purchasing through the association to buy a full mem bership in the co-op with the savings made on purchases. In the first season 200 members pur chased 2,000 tons. The following year membership was expanded to 500 and the volume mounted to $48,000 on which a savings of $1,750 was realized. This year 800 additional members have purchased through the association and the manage ment is confident sales will be well over $100,000. The Cooperative Oil Association, closely related to the coal co-op, has a membership of 1000 and a volume which is expected to exceed 1,000,000 gallons of fuel oil in the 1936-37 season. In the last three years savings on fuel oil have averaged five per cent. Total sales jumped from $142,000 in 1935 to $174,- 000 last year. Franklin Cooperative Creamery boost ed its business 11 per cent in 1936 show ing a total volume of $2,827,560. Net earnings for the year were $63,717 and current assets amounted to $356,773 a ratio of 3 to 1 over current liabilities- More than $840,000 in wages were paid out to employees and a $14,000 addition to the creamery was erected during the year to take care of increasing business. B0OK REVIEWS SEtf-HEtP COOPERATION ,,. TToton Sinclair, Farrar & Rinehart, New Co-op, by "P10 ........................ $2.50 er through The Cooperative League) as Mr. Sinclair explains, is "a novel • altogether." It is a story of the California °'ii: So cooperatives—not a single co-op, but in- ^ ts and stories that might have happened and •A happen in any one of the one hundred and . tv-frv6 self-help cooperatives in California. IT a moving and touching story in many parts. V feel the living drama of cooperative organiza- the human qualities, the warmth and intensi- 6°°' [ qroup action for an ideal unknown to the ? "drum lives of most modern individualistic TheSari Sabastian Self-Help Cooperative, about •hich most of the story centers, begins its life in the minds of a small group of down and outers wintering in a section of unused sewer pipe on the outskirts of the city. From this humble beginning d,e co-op is launched on the principles of selling sork, not for money but for goods. "I'll tend your orchard if you 9ive me tne surplus oranges," is the basis for finding work. The oranges are ex changed for paint to paint another man's house. He in turn pays in gasoline and so on along the »iole scale of barter and exchange. The co-op gradually thrives. Its development is not always peaceful, beset as it is with communists and the competition of relief agencies and the W.P.A. And on the last page its fate rests precariously in the busy hands of President Roosevelt. Mr. Sinclair has written a book whose best point is perhaps its sympathetic understanding of the common human problems of the unemployed. Not a few of my friends have laid down the book in disgust at the sequence of all too perfect, and, as they say, improbable incidents which recur and fit in like the pieces of a jig saw puzzle to form an idealistic picture. In spite of the fact that the story from time to time seems fabricated and unreal it leaves no doubt in our minds that such things did occur. In this book it is more the spirit of co- operative living than the facts with which we are concerned. Eliot D. Pratt THE PHILOSOPHY OF COOPERATION Cooperation—A Philosophical Interpretation, by David E. Sonquist, Central States Cooperative. League, Chicago, 48 pages ............... 15c. (Order through The Cooperative League) Dr. David E. Sonquist, who resigned 'his posi tion as a college professor to start cleaning his own little corner of creation by organizing cooperatives, is the author of a new pamphlet "Cooperation—A Philosophical Interpretation." Despite the fact that he sees individualism "in grained in our educational, political, economic and religious systems," he also hopefully notes "an- awakening of interest in the Cooperative Move ment during the past two years that is nothing short of phenomenal." Cooperation, (we are sorry he calls it cooperatism) is an attempt to avoid the extremes of Individualism or Statism. An outstanding section is his statement of human motives. He describes man's psychological motives as group approval or rapport, security, recogni tion for unusual service and the desire for new experience, all of which the profit-motive destroys. The table of contents indicates the field covered in the eight sections: The Rise of Individualism vs. Cooperation, the Nature of the Individual, the Individual in the Cooperative Enterprise, Coop erative Economics, Cooperative Government, Co operative Philosophy, and Religion and Coopéra' tion. THE PRESS BOOSTS CONSUMERS' COOPERATION American Business, December, 1936, "The Hulla baloo About Cooperatives." American Socialist Monthly, December, 1936, Re view of "Decline and Rise of the Consumer," Benjamin Wolf. Atlantic Monthly, February, 1937, "Answers to Matthews' attack on Cooperatives," H. Haines Turner and A. A. Merrill. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engine- men's Magazine, January, 1937, "Wage In creases Grabbed by Middleman," John F. Mc- Namee, and "Labor and the Cooperative Move- B mmt," E. R. Bowen. Business Editorial Service, January 22, 1937, "Con sumer Cooperation," Ernest Minor Patterson. Umstian Century, February 3, 1937, "The Delta Cooperative," Sherwood Eddy. Uinstian Front, February, 1937, Review of "De- dine and Rise of the Consumer." " Umstian Leader, January 30, 1937, "Dr. Herrick °n Cooperatives." ^on Sense, December, 1936, "Sweden Vs. America," Roy V. Peel. Consumers' Cooperation February, 1937 Cooperative Information, January, 1937, "Relations Between the A. F. of L. and the Consumers' Co operative Societies." Consumers Guide, December 14, 1937, "Cooper- ators Go to School." Current History, February, 1937, "Cooperation and Resettlement," Rexford G. Tugwell. Domestic Commerce, January 20, 1937, "Coopera tives in College." Economic Justice, December, 1936, "Religion ano5 Labor Serve Through Cooperative." Epworth Herald, January 16, 1937, "Three Warn ings to Cooperators," Mary Jenness. Labor Information Bulletin, January, 1937, "Local Consumer Cooperative Enterprises," Florence E. Parker. Monthly Labor Review, December, 1936, "Opera- tions of Cooperative Credit Societies in 1935." Medical Economics, January, 1937, "Here Come the Cooperatives," Dr. J. P. Warbasse. Petroleum Age, November, 1936, "What's Behind Consumer Co-ops?", Harry Curran Wilbur. 31 Nation's Business, December, 1936, "Self-Help Seeks a Cane." Our New World, January 12, 1937, "Religion and Distribution," Edward A. Filene. Queen's Work, February, 1937, "Consumers' Co ops Praised by Big Business Executives." Railway Carmen's Journal, January, 1937, "Labor's Interest in Consumers Cooperation," William Green. Railroad Trainman, January, 1937, "Religion and Distribution," Edward A. Filene. Realty News. January 22, 1937, "Cooperative Housing," E. St. Elmo Lewis. Rural America, December, 1936, "The Growth of Farmers Cooperation." "Success of Scandina vian Cooperatives," Lois Baker. Social Work Today, January, 1937, "Another Way Out," Herman Southworth, review of "Consumer Cooperation in America." Survey Graphic. January, 1937, "American Busi ness Man: 1937 Model," treatment of Edward A. Filene and the cooperative movement. Tide, January 15, 1937, "Co-op's Year." Welcome News. December, 1936, "The Co-ops are Cominq," EMis M. Bree. World Herald, January 21. 1937, "We View Co operatives in Fact and Fiction." Christian Science Monitor, January 16, "World Cooperative Movement," a survey; February 9, 1937, "Cooperatives Place Faith in Low-Price Era." New York Times, January 29, "Thorpe Tells Why Co-ops Won't Succeed." NEW BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS Several important new books on the cooperative movement lhave been published in the last few months. Since it is impossible to review them in this issue, we are listinq below those which maybe ordered now through The Cooperative League. Consumers' Cooperatives, a debate handbook. Julia Johnson, J. V. Garland and Charles F. Phillips, H. W. Wilson, New York. 296 pages, $.90 A compilation of articles and excerpts from books and addresses for use primarily in debate work. Cooperation: The Dominant Economic Idea of the Future, Henry A. Wallace, The Cooperative League, New York, 24 pages ............ lOc The last twenty pages of "Whose Constitution" are a genuine classic in cooperative literature. The Secretary of Agriculture has kindly consented to the republication of this stirring challenge. Re produced in convenient pamphlet form it should have a profound effect upon the thinking of rural America. Campus Co-ops, William H. Moore, The Coop erative League, New York, 36 pages ...... 5c This pamphlet is the .product of the first year of experience of the National Committee on Student Cooperatives. It sets forth briefly the present status of campus co-ops, the method of organiza tion, problems involved in their operation and suggestions for new types of student cooperative activity. Denmark—The Cooperative Way, by Frederic C. Howe. A description of the Danish coopera- 32 live movement as an alternative to Cottim and Fascism. Coward MeCann, 272 pages S'SJ1 Democracy in Denmark, Josephine Goldaiarlr A. H. Hollman, translated by Alice G. Br A description of the cooperatives, social ance and folk hiqh schools in Denmark. N t- " Home Library. 342 pages, 25c. tl0nal TO BE PUBLISHED Cooperative Enterprise, Jacob Baker, Vam, Press, New York .................. . fl$u^ A volume summarizing the study made bv il President's Commission of Inquiry on Coop Enterprise in Europe, written by Jacob a member of the commission and Assistant Admii/ trator of the WPA. Scheduled for publication if in February. Cooperatives — Promise or Illusion. Maxwell Stew art, Public Affairs Committee, New York 1(V One of the series of Public Affairs Pamphlet, devoted to discussions of social and economic problems. Scheduled for publication early jj March. Cooperatives, Ryllis Alexander Goslin, Foreign Policv Association, New York .......... 25c The Headline Books published by tihe Foreign Policy Association are fast becoming an American Institution. Among those scheduled for early publi cation is a timely discussion of the consumers co operative movement. Publication tentatively scheduled March 1. The Brave Years — a cooperative novel, William Hevliger, AppletonXZentury, New York . .$2.00 William Heyliger, well known author of boys' stories, first turned his attention to adult novels in "Dark Conquest." His second is a cooperative novel "The Brave Years" now running serially in several magazines and scheduled for publication in May. The film, "Consumers Cooperation in Sweden," is now available on 16 mm. safety film. Due to the enormous demand for this film from cooperative organizations, uni versities and high schools, The Cooper ative Film Committee found it necessary to prepare a 16 mm. negative from which have been made eight copies of the film- Thèse copies are available to interested parties at a small rental or will be sold to larger cooperative organizations, which may have constant use for them in their educational work. All funds raised through rentals or sales will be used by the committee to acquire more coopera tive films from Europe. Address all communications to: Cooperative Film Committee, 2108 Washington Ave., No. Minneapolis, Minn. Consumers' Cooperation CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE • PLENTY • DEMOCRACY Volume XXIII. No. 3 MARCH 1937 Ten Cents COOPERATIVE VIEWPOINTS A writer in The Social Frontier says, "It is an educational accomplishment . . . when the worker in industry begins to discover that he and the farmer are neighbors mutually dependent upon each other." It is more than an educational ac complishment when, as is now happening generally among many cooperative wholesales, farm groups reach out and help industrial and office workers to or ganize cooperatives and then accept such cooperative groups into membership in the wholesale. Through Consumers Co operative Purchasing farm and factory workers learn that they are economic neighbors, and take hold of one another's hands to eliminate middle-man-monopoly which now so largely separates them. • After years of effort in arousing the people to the need of National Housing legislation, it would appear that real groundwork has been laid in the Wag- ner-Steagall Low-Rent Housing Bill in troduced in Congress. The basis of the bill is frankly admitted to be a foreign importation, which may cause opposition on the part of reactionaries. It is said to «aw on much of the European legisla- |on which has been in successful opera tion for the past fifteen years, particular ly in England and the Scandinavian countries, A United States Housing Authority is authorized to issue bonds over a four-year period not to exceed a billion dollars, at the rate of 200 million dollars the first year, 250 million the sec ond, 250 million the third, and 300 million the fourth. These bonds are to be guaran teed by the United States government. The money is to be used for loans to local government agencies on a basis whereby an annual subsidy may equal the entire interest charges plus one per cent of the construction cost. The bill al so provides for the "erection of coopera tive and limited dividend corporations." If the bill passes, as seems likely, it should greatly stimulate the building of cooper ative housing by middle income groups and public housing for low income groups. • One of the significant pieces of in formation brought back from Europe by Mr. Gordon H. Ward, Associate Agri cultural Economist of the Virginia Agri cultural and Mechanical College, who was a member of the 1936 Cooperative League Tour to Europe, had to do with the question of the relationship of farm and city workers in retail cooperative as- TOmt'0 spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people. In Publl T association, purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. E R p m0nthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th Street, New York City. Joùrnaîlen' .F$îtor- WaHace J. Campbell, Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative _____uai^ana Educational Directors of Cooperative Wholesales and District Leagues. " ^60 "* Sec°nd Class Matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act •^ of March S, I879. Price $1.00 a year. 111" sociations. Mr. Ward advises that he found that there was no great difficulty experienced in both groups being mem bers of the same retail cooperative asso ciation. He says, "In Scotland we were advised that the farmers are the back bone of the cooperative purchasing movement. There seemed to be a cooper ative store in almost every village of any significance, and both the town people and farmers are members of the same store society . . . We found that in Den mark, Sweden and Finland the coopera tive stores in the towns included both farmers and various classes of industrial and office workers in the membership. From all we could gather, the two groups work together harmoniously in managing the store in the interest of all the mem bers as consumers. In Denmark we found that cooperative stores often could take in eggs and similar farm products from the farmer members and sell these farm products to the members of the town who have need of them . . . On the whole I believe that in the Scandinavian coun tries, the relations between the two classes (farm and urban residents) in the same cooperative store organization are working out very satisfactorily and be- 'lieve it indicates that this type of organi zation can function successfully in the United .States." • General Grant said, "Nothing has ever been decided by war that could not be decided without it; and if decided after the war, why not before?" It is said that Lord Kitchener declared after a lifetime spent in soldiering, that he had never seen a war out o'f which any permanent peace had come, and that while fighting brought out great individual heroism, it was futile in settling great international disputes. When such authorities on war as General Grant and Lord Kitchener de clare that the issues could better be de cided by peaceful means, surely the prob lem is the formulation of peaceful means of settling disputes. The Emergency Peace Campaign proposes: 1) The enactment of neutrality measures which would lay mandatory embargoes on arms, muni tions and essential war materials. 2) Provision for the submission of all disputes in which the United States might be involved to peaceful settlement; conciliation or arbitration and acceptance of the obligations to abide by the de cision rendered. 34 3) The adoption of an economic and fina policy which would tend to lower barrier'0'1' world trade. s 'o Cooperators are committed to pea They believe in every type of neutral^ and arbitration method which will ^ to assist in preserving peace, r cooperators are also realistic. Tlhey that the seeds of war are embodied in'tT competition-for-profit economic syste * as the clouds hold lightning. Cooperator ask peace advocates to be specific and to advocate aggressively and personally participate in the building of cooperative associations whereby the world's business and banking will eventually be done through a cooperation-for-service eco nomic system. Cooperators do not be lieve that war can be prevented by neu trality or arbitration legislation without also rapidly building a cooperative eco nomic world society. A first step in the abolition of tenancy and recovery of farm ownership is sug gested in the special message of the Presi dent to Congress urging legislation to strengthen "the agricultural ladder on which an energetic young man might ascend from a hired man to tenant to in dependent owner." Legislation preceded the reduction of farm tenancy in Den mark from 42% to where, according to a government report, "There is no longer any farm tenancy (in Denmark)." Legis lation likewise preceded the reduction of farm tenancy in Finland from 60% to 9%. However, the redistribution of farm lands in America by legislative assistance will not today prevent ownership of farm lands again becoming centralized, any more than did the early distribution by the government of homesteads, unless farmers themselves continue to organize marketing, credit and purchasing coop eratives in every field to prevent being exploited by private-profit monopoly- Loss of ownership and the growth o farm tenancy in America was the result of farmers turning over the marketing ot their products to individuals for private profit, turning over the purchasing ot their supplies to individuals for private', profit, and turning over the providing ° their credit to individuals for P»vate; profit. American farmers are rapidly un- doing the great economic mistake ot ou^ forefathers, and regaining control or ma - Consumers' Coopérât«» purchasing and credit institutions their cooperatives. llnon the celebration of his seventieth ay on February 27, Prof. Irving - of Yale University said, "It gives l" areat satisfaction to reach this mile- "|ene jn view of the fact that at thirty- 5 e I had broken down with tuberculosis. Then I made up my mind to learn how to i- ,e " We pay our tribute to such a man 's professor Fisher, who not only learned ersonally how to live and overcome a 'hysical handicap, but organized that knowledge for the sake of society in the Life Extension Institute, which has been of invaluable assistance to tens of thou sands of Americans in learning how to prevent and remedy disease. "Next to my professional work," added Professor Fisher, "it has been my hobby to take a keen interest in public health, the alcohol problem and preventing war. 1 found that all these problems connected themselves with economic problems. I think the connection should be studied more than it is by economists." We sug gest that progressive ethical leaders as well as economic, political and educational leaders should take a leaf from Profesor Fisher's philosophy and practice. Ethical groups have led out in the organizations of hospitals to promote public health. They have discussed and legislated about the alcohol problem and the war prob lem. As Professor Fisher says, all these problems are connected with economics. He might have been more specific and stated that they are particularly con nected with private-profit economics. The basic economic way to solve problems of sickness, alcohol and war is to take the private-profit out of them. That's what »me of the democratic European coun- Iries are beginning to do through volun tary and obligatory cooperative action. It is not easy to control one's words when writing about the revelations of the ( LaFoIlette Committee relative to the use bV industry of spies upon their workers. What would be your judgment on a Lhrysler executive who sat in at meetings ale," was the reply. nd you justify labor spies," commented Vh, 1937 Senator LaFoIlette. "I am not trying to- embarrass you, but I want to find if there is any justification for this rotten espion age. What is the distinction between an. executive selling out and a labor union; member being bought to betray fais fel lows?" The witness, according to the newspaper story, said he could not un derstand the comparison. Private-profit business has reached a. low stage of morality when the prelimi nary report on the six-months investi gation of the committee uses such phra seology as the following: "A gigantic commercial enterprise in which employers collaborate with professional spies in assaulting citizens because they exert their lawful right to organize for collective bar gaining. "Spent something like $240,000 of employ ers' money in corrupting men to sell out their fellow workers. Espionage has become the habit of American management. Industry frorm fear pays millions to live in more fear. That industry should be permitted to arm unscrupu lous men (drawn from the underworld) un der their own pay, gravely wearing the badge of the law, is startling." Business that has to depend upon the use of criminal thugs as spies is rotten at the core. Sarcastically said Senator Thomas, "If the subcommittee can find that labor spying makes better workers, better citizens, offers better manhood in industry, you can rest assured we will so inform the Senate." The reaction of the American public to these revelations is one of the hopeful signs that the hearts of people are not corrupt. Years ago in connection with writing "Wealth Against Common wealth," Henry D. Lloyd said that he could hardly endure to dig daily into the results of human greed, but that he car ried on in the belief that if the people knew the truth, they would discover and apply the solution. One immediate result seems to be that General Motors de clares it washed its hands of the whole miserable business on January 31, after the investigation was well under way. To- know the truth is the foundation of the people freeing themselves from such vi cious and reprehensible practices. We have no real faith, however, that the temptations of private profits and the desperate drive of competition will per mit the final elimination of such practices. That can only come by a change in mo tive and method to an economic system of cooperation for service. 35 - THE SUPREME COURT AND THE FARMER . the farmers have faced through u e long years of struggle of achieving if .lanced and progressive abundance be- 3 " •»»...1*-ii»irt o'M^i i«*-? 11 ct*>«r ' I "In » rî-fcfr THE Supreme Court issue, which Con gress may have voted upon by the time tJhis issue of Consumers' Cooperation readies its subscribers, is said by some writers to be the third great crisis in American history, being likened to the is sues of the Civil War and the Revolu tionary War. We doubt very much the .accuracy of such a description but in its larger light as a part of the upsurge of 'farm and factory workers towards the realization of economic democracy, we agree that America today is "on the threshold of another era of destiny." In discussing the Court and the Consti tution question, we are doing so from the standpoint of "The Farmer and the Su preme Court," in order to have a specific illustration. The case stated for the farm er would, we believe, be reasonably ac- •curately presented like this. The President's Commission on Ten ancy now .reveals to the people of Amer ica the fact that nearly half, or three mil lion farmers, are living under conditions 'far below a decent or even healthy standard of life; statistics show that 42% of farmers are tenants, that half the farm acreage is tenant operated; Secretary Wallace refers to "a rural civilization threatened with decadence." Many other •statistics and descriptions could be add- •ed to show what has been happening 'to farmers. While the realization is only now dawning on the American people, 'farm leaders woke up to many of these facts shortly after the close of the World War andl started action to remedy them. Their action during the past sixteen years (has followed four major lines. The first problem was to persuade the majority of farmers to unite upon a pro- •gram. It was thought, following the war, that the program should primarily be one •of price control of surplus farm products which were sold in the domestic market, to offset the advantages whidh industry has in tariff subsidies. This proposal was embodied in the McNary-JHaugen Bill. It was later realized that, because of the de clining market for American farm prod ucts in Europe as a result of importation quotas and the rehabilitation of agricul ture abroad, production as well as prices .36 must be controlled, which finall nated in the A.A.A. program c the two ideas of price and produc • control, all of which probably has b one of the great illustrations in of the process of democratic thinking After the majority of farmers were n suaded to get behind the original ptf" control plan and the later price and n duction plan, it was necessary to D > suade Congress or the legislative division of the government to adopt the plan. B a combination of persuasion and votes this was finally accomplished. However the original price control plan, after being accepted by Congress, was then vetoed by the Executive branch of the government, first by President Coolidqe and second by President Hoover. We imagine that after these long years of ef fort which Ihave only brought a small measure of equality between agriculture and industry it may not appeal to farmers that former President Hoover should now say in reference to the proposal to change the Supreme Court, "What is the hurry in all this? The nation is recovering from the depression. There is no emergency." These phrases recall such former ones as "Prosperity is just around the corner," which was said when factories were closing and "Have confi dence in your bank," which was said when the banking structure was tumbling at the close of a period which ended with one third of the banks gone and the balance only saved with government sup port. The third stage ended with the people changing and persuading the Ex ecutive branclh of the government to their way of thinking. After farmers had been largely respon sible for changing both the Legislative and Executive personnel of the govern ment, they found themselves again for- stalled by the Judicial arm of the nation • which now brings to a head the problem of changing and persuading the third and last branch of the government in line with the thinking of the Executive and Legis lative. The question at issue is how is that to be done? « There are three proposals which ha to do with the solution of the problem Consumers' Cooperation en agriculture and industry. The first 'We osai is to change a sufficient number ''nhe Justices of the Supreme Court in e way to secure a favorable interpre- ^ Those changes time itself might be '/ 'ended upon to produce, but it is ar- ed why wait for nature to act to per- ^t a progressive President and Congress to subtitute a progressive for a conserva- . judge. It was undoubtedly as a result f accepting this viewpoint that the pres ent proposal of the President was made to appoint additional Justices, and the law to permit Justices to voluntarily retire at the age of 70 was passed. A second pro posal to bring judicial action in line with Executive and Legislative action on farm problems is to pass a law making it pos sible for Congress by two-thirds vote to nullify the action of the Court, where laws are declared unconstitutional, or for such questions to be submitted to a refer endum vote of the people as a whole. The third proposal is to change the Con-- stitution itself under which the JudiciaE branch interprets the laws passed by Congress and approved by the Executive. Americans, however, who fully realize- the possibility of reading various mean ings into any phraseology which might be used in wording a Constitutional Amendment, realize that such an amend ment, even if passed without delay, might not produce the effect desired if the per sonnel of the Court still remained con servative. Those of us who have had first hand' knowledge and have been personally in volved in the sixteen long years of strug gle on the part of the farmers of America to achieve a measure of justice, look for ward with high hopes to the solving of the final problem through an eventual uni fication of the thinking of the three branches of the government, Legislative, Executive and Judicial, to such a degree; as to bring about greater equality and economic justice. THIRTY YEARS OF COOPERATION IN NORWAY TUNE, 1936, was a jubilee month for J the Consumers Cooperative Move ment in Norway. Just thirty years be fore—June 27, 1906—the Norges Koop erative Landsforening (N.K.L.), the Co operative Union and Wholesale Society of Norway, had been established. Up to this time Cooperation in Norway had tad an uncertain existence. Under the leadership of Helge Vearingsaasen, a forest owner of Elverum, a federation called the Thrift Societies' Federation had been formed with about 20,000 in dividual members and a fairly large trade. The movement ebbed out, how ever, chiefly as a result of the great crisis of 1880, though a few societies from this time still exist, linking this earlier period w'th the present. It was Ole Dehli, a lawyer, who re- Vlved the movement about 1890. With government aid he had made a trip to England to study industrial legislation and while in England he had become ac- luainted with Consumers' Cooperation, Randoff Arnesen, Secretary The Cooperative Union and Wholesale Society of Norway a movement which aroused his enthu siasm. On (his return home, he lectured untiringly on Cooperation and the Roch dale principles. Finally, as a result of his work the Kristiana Cooperative Society (Oslo) was established. Besides being a lawyer, Dehli was ac tive in municipal politics, and because of this much attention was given to his ac tivity with the cooperators. It was not long before he became the most important figure in Cooperation in Norway. Advokat Dehli, as he is called in Nor way, was an excellent leader. He tra velled all over the country giving Coop erative lectures and establishing a num ber of Societies; he brought the scattered forces together in national conferences; he founded the journal, "Kooperatoren"* and, at last, on the 27th of June, 1906, he was successful in founding Norges Ko operative Landsforening and was, him self, elected president. At first N.K.L. was meant to further only the educational side of cooperative 37 ^activity. But when its formal constitution was drawn up, it was decided that the -newly founded organization should also act as a wholesale society, and in the fol lowing year, 1907, this activity was started. In the early years it was difficult to col lect capital for the national organization and to persuade the societies to join it. At the end of the first year, however, N.K.L. embraced 19 Societies, with 6,300 individual members. 1911 was the first eventful year in the history of Norwegian Cooperation. By this time N.K.L. embraced 77 Societies, whose membership numbered 19,000 and whose turnover was six million Norwe gian crowns; while the trade of N.K.L. rounded its first million. And in this year N.K.L. moved into its own premises in Oslo and opened a branch at Trondheim; N.K.L.'s .Savings Department was start ed; and, last but not least, N.K.L. started to produce margarine in its own factory •at Bergen, Looking back upon these events and considering the size of the organization at the time, we are amazed at the gigantic effort N.K.L. made in its fifth year. Legislative Discrimination Norwegian legislation has played an important part in the development of the Cooperative Movement in Norway. The Commercial Law, which is based on the principle that the largest possible num ber of people should be able to make their living by trade, prohibits chain stores and multiple shops. It forbids a cooperative society to set up branches in another municipality, thus blocking all efforts at concentration. If a cooperative society has more than one branch within a muni cipality, it must trade only with mem bers; but this permission to establish branches within the community is con sidered to be preferential treatment by the enemies of cooperation. However, the Cooperative Movement of Norway "has tried unsuccessfully through many years to obtain more freedom in this re- .-spect. In accordance with the Taxation Law of 1917 cooperative societies are taxed 'for their property and for the presumed income on their property. If a society has no branches and also trades with non- members it must pay income tax, in addi- 38 tion. Cooperative societies are thu, often million crowns. During the war co- empted from paying tax on income f' ~'^™ suffered mOre from lack of rived from trade with members. C0 e" erators consider this clause just in p -^" ciple, but it has been a thorn in their ^' my's side, and through all these ye 6" propaganda against the Coopéra^ Movement has been carried on with tà? slogan: Fight Non-tax-paying Cooper * tion. This propaganda finally had its eî feet in 1933 when Parliament decided that the cooperative societies should na taxes to the government on their entire surplus, including that part of the surplus which is paid back to members as divi dends on purchases. A great struggle en sued, and the Act passed with only a scant majority. Cooperatives all over the country then opened a powerful cam paign against the unjust act and it was rescinded the following year — to the great disappointment of private trade Cooperative societies are now taxed in accordance with the Law of 1917. At the present time, Cooperation in Norway is facing a new problem: a pro posed amendment of the old Trust Law, the purpose of which is to protect the interests of the consumers from trusts. The amendment would allow the govern ment complete freedom to regulate practi cally every relation within the industrial and commercial world, including Cooper ation. Cooperators are protesting strong ly against this amendment because they fear that the cooperatives would be at the mercy of the authorities who will enforce the law in the future, and because the law with the proposed amendment in no small degree implies an economic dictatorship. Overcoming Physical Barriers The greatest difficulty which faces Norwegian cooperatives lies in the phys ical conditions of the country because of which our propaganda and educational activity must be so complicated. Cooper ative societies in Norway are scattered throughout the land from the southern tip to the shores of the Polar Sea, which in addition to legislation, makes fusion ot societies very difficult. It is on this prob lem that we must now concentrate our strength, for in its solution lies the road to absolute victory. .. At the beginning of the World W* ration suffered more from lack of °P js than private trade, because of the R° nch Agreements with England which u ed all apportionments on the consump- •fl of 1913, and for a time it was neces- rv to refuse new societies admission to M K L- However, at the close of the war oreat number of societies were admitted ?0 membership, and by 1920 N.K.L. em braced 400 societies with 80,000 members. The Crisis of 1920 In the same year (1920) came a great crisis which struck at the heart of Nor wegian industries. Prices dropped disas trously, and a number of banks, insurance cofflpanies, and industrial and commer cial concerns were thrown into .bank ruptcy, creating unemployment and pov erty. During the several years' duration of the crisis there was a short period of inflation w!hen the value of the Norwe gian crown was greatly decreased. This period did not last long and the crown mounted again and soon reached its for mer parity. The resulting deflation created new difficulties with decreasing trade. Naturally, the cooperative societies al so suffered during these difficulties; but on the whole, because of the sound eco nomic principles on which cooperation is founded, they withstood the crisis ad mirably and grew stronger, with an ever increasing membership. Beginning in 1920 with 310 societies, a membership of 88,346; 112,800,000 crowns in trade; a net surplus of 4,900,000 crowns; a share capital of 5,200,000 crowns; and reserves of 6.400,000 crowns, there 'has been a steady growth through the years, until in 1935 there were 497 societies with a membership of 138.557; 129,700,000 crowns in trade; a net surplus of 6,500,- 000 crowns; a share capital of 17,300,000 crowns; and reserves of 13,800,000 crowns. Share capital and reserves, together, represent 56% of the total of the socie- ties balance sheet, a percentage which *e feel to be quite satisfactory. When 'ne 1935 accounts were made up, the total surplus of the societies was found to be «00.000 crowns. Out of this sum 4,000,- 000 th N.K.L. embraced 149 societies membership of 32,000 and a total trade Consumers' Cooperation crowns were repaid to members as dividends, and the remaining crowns were placed in the re- 1937 serves. It must be granted that members realize the necessity of strengthening the economy of the societies. Altogether, the societies have 795 stores, an average of 1.6 stores for each society, as against 1.26 in 1920. The average purchase of members in the so cieties was 835 crowns in 1935 and has always been comparatively high, accord ing to international standards. The so cieties own 171 production centres, 103 of which are bakeries. Broad Membership Base Membership in the societies is re cruited from the following occupational groups: Laborers (employed in industry, handicraft, fishing, merchant fleet, transport and business) ........................... 49.2% Independent Farmers ................... 26.3% Workers in Forestry and Farming ...... 6.2% Master Mechanics ..................... 3.2% Employees ........................... 11.6% Independent Manufacturers, Shipowners, Business people, etc. ................. 3.5% Because of the membership of many of the societies is made up of farmers and fishermen, the question of credit has been troublesome, but it has been fought with energetic activity. In the period of de pression after the World War, when money was particularly scarce among our members, the problem was especially acute. However, credit has been kept down and is steadily decreasing. At present it amounts to only 6.5% of the turnover in our societies. Following the establishment of the Au dit Department of N.K.L. in 1928, there was a distinct improvement in the econ omy of the societies. For many years N.K.L. struggled to set up an Audit De partment and the reform it represented, but the societies opposed it because they felt it would menace their independence; and when it was finally established mem bership in it was made voluntary. It was not long, however, before the department became a popular institution, and now 70% of the societies are members of it. Union of Business and Education As in Sweden and Denmark, there is but one national organization in Norway which includes both educational and commercial activity. The educational work is carried on by the organizing de partment, as we call it, under the leader ship of a secretary elected by the Coop- 39 erative Congress. Though the organizing department has been carrying on its work with meager resources, it is apparent that the members are becoming more and more aware of the necessity for increased education. Lectures, lantern slide talks, and the distribution of films are under the super vision of the organizing department. Sev eral Norwegian films have been released, and Swedish films are also used. Each year the department conducts a Summer School for managers and employees to teach them shop work and cooperative subjects, and courses are arranged for officers of cooperative societies. The schools and courses are very popular and financial aid is given those who might not otherwise be able to attend them from interest on a Memorial Fund, "Advokat Dehli's Fund," which we have been col lecting through many years. A plan for the establishment of a permanent Cooperative School, similar to the Swedish and Danish Cooperative Schools, was presented to the Coopera tive Congress in June, 1936, and work will go forward on it as soon as possible. The Publishing Department, the activi ty of which is still limited, shas issued a number of books and pamphlets. The journal, "Kooperatoren," which appears fortnightly, is published in 130,000 copies. It has been proposed that the journal be made a weekly, and there are indications that it is necessary to assume the extra work that will be entailed. Growing Importance of N.K.L. The aim of the commercial activity of N.K.L. is to furnish the societies with goods of high quality and at reasonable prices, through joint purchasing and joint production. Through the thirty years of its existence, it has become more and more able to accomplish its aim; and now it has branches in Trondheim, Stavanger, Bode, Bergen, Kristiansand, Drammen, Skien, and Aalesund. A study of the commercial activity of N.K.L. reveals the following progress: 1920 1935 300 151 18,000,000 41,300,000 2,100,000 18,200,000 Price Index Number Total Trade, Crowns Own Production, Crowns Production in per cent of trade Purchases of societies in per cent of trade 40 12% 14.3% 44% 27.4% It will be observed that the trade t N.K.L. in 1935 was 41,300,000 crown while the trade of the societies in A' same year was 130,000,000 crowns. Tf.6 disproportion may be partly explained f several ways: purchases are figured upo the gross trade of the societies; the so cieties sell considerable quantities Of goods, not bought through N.K.L.;"and a great many of the societies own their own production centres. Nevertheless there is room for a much greater parti cipation by the societies in the activities of N.K.L. and we are working to attain this end. It is hoped that a permanent Cooperative School will do much to edu cate our managers to become 100 per cent cooperators. It was noted above that in 1911 N.K.L opened a margarine factory. Since that time N.K.L. has acquired a tobacco fac tory in Oslo, three coffee roasteries, a soap factory, margarine factories in Oslo and Bodo, a flour mill in Stavanger, a shoe factory in Drammen, a chocolate factory in Oslo, and, as a special branch under the Luma Factory, an electric lamp factory in Oslo. The factories are organ ized as daughter companies (limited) un der separate leadership, and they grant the societies dividends on purchases in proportion to their profits. In recent years the margarine factories and the soap fac tory have paid a dividend of 10%, and the tobacco factory 6%, while N.K.L. -has paid the societies a dividend of l%% on general purchases. N.K.L.'s own production in 1935 amounted to 44% of its total trade, which, according to International Standards, is a good proportion. It is our feeling that this is one of the main factors causing in creased interest in and affiliation with the Cooperative Movement; and economical ly our own production has served as a bulwark of strength. For many years N.K.L. has been in dependent of private finance--in fact, ever since the Deposit Department was opened in 1911. Through this department members have saved approximately ten million crowns which is used by N.K.L. in its work. That this activity has been a source of safety to our members is espe cially apparent when viewed in the lig1" of various calamities which befell private banks after the deflation. , The Architectural Department ot MKL. plans new buildings for both TJ K'L. anc' *ke soc^eties- and has been esponsible for furthering shop culture in Norway, a fie^ in which the coopera tives take a leading place. The Cooperative Movement in Nor- way has developed two progressive In- urance Societies; the first, for fire and ther indemnities, organized in 1921, and rtie second, a Life Insurance Society, or- ganized in 1930. Neutrality But not Impotence Our opponents often accuse Norwe gian Cooperation of being political, and particularly, Marxist. The accusation is false. Our Cooperative Congresses have time and again confirmed the political neutrality of Norwegian Cooperation by the harmony in which the various politi cal shades among our members have worked. The farmers who make up a large and interested part of our member ship are determined in their demand for strict neutrality. On the wihole, our ex perience has taught us that neutrality must not be violated. This is not a mere wish; it is a condition vital to the ex istence of Norwegian Cooperation. The fact that we maintain political neutrality does not mean, however, that we will submit to anything. Economically we are ever on fighting terms with pri vate trade and with the great trusts, and we stand always in readiness to protect the interests of the Consumers. Opposition to the cooperative move ment was never stronger than at present. Nevertheless, Cooperation is marching on and growing strong, confirming our 'faith that the people who have their homes among the mountains and fjords of Norway have taken cooperation to their hearts and will keep watch over it and zealously protect it from all hostile attacks. THE WORLD'S GREATEST REVOLUTION (Editor's Note: This historic challenge written by John Brisben Walker was published in Cos mopolitan Magazine at the turn of the century.) FjECISIVE battles are no longer fought •L/ with arms. Attack with weapons may constitute an incident, but cam paigns from tlhe opening of the 20th cen tury will be fought in the offices of those who control the world's supply of money. That event in the world's history which promises to be most deeply fraught with results to the human race was an nounced in the New York journals of Sunday, March 3, 1901, as a three column advertisement. It was not an affair of parliament or of regal proclamation. There was no fuss, no ceremony. The average man, the welfare of whose great-great-grandchildren was to be af fected, scarcely noticed the advertise- ' ment which read: Office of J. P. Morgan o Co., 23 Wall Street, New York, and began in bold faced type: To the stock holders of Federal Steel Co., National oteel Co., National Tube Co., etc. Pyramiding Wealth and Control is momentous event did not concern WJih princes or «ven with so-called Consumers' Cooperation March, 1937 Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1901 John Brisben Walker, statesmen. The world on the tShird day of March, 1901, had ceased to be ruled by such. True, there were marionettes still figuring in Congress and as Kings, but they were in place simply to carry out the orders of the world's real rulers—• those who control the concentrated por tion of the money supply. The words J. P. Morgan & Co. meant, in addition to the great wealth of the firm itself, the finan cial support of the House of Rothschild, the approval, if not the active coopera tion, of the House of Rockefeller, and the direct cooperation of the Carnegie and other great iron industries. House of Rothschild and associated banks and in dustries, one thousand millions; House of Rockefeller and associated banks and in dustries, 850 millions; J. P. Morgan 6 Co. representing iron industries and as sociated banks 1154 millions. Total 3,004 millions of dollars. Of what consequence the German playing at Emperor, or the king who re cently read a speech written by ministers under dictation from the world of fi nance? Even the Czar of Russia seems a feeble make-believe in the presence of men who control 3,000 millions of dollars 41 and can puslh the endless buttons which carry their signals into every sort of mer cantile house, into every military camp, which cause every court official to stand alert, and can even produce the pro- foundest movements in the church itself. Announcing the Death of Competition Between the lines of the advertisement, headed Office of J. P. Morgan 0 Co. was to be read a proclamation, thus:— Commercial Metropolis of the World. Notice to the peoples of all lands and all nationalities: "The old competitive sys tem, with its ruinous methods, its count less duplications, its wastefulness of hu man effort and its relentless business war fares, is hereby abolished, the change to take effect in part immediately, and in whole as rapidly as the details can here after be worked out. "The four great Houses controlling the world's visible supply of money, having this day agreed to act in unison under the scheme of organization outlined by Mr. J. P. Morgan, have invested themselves with the controlling interest in the three great sources by wlhich the public can be taxed—the supply of ores, the working of the same into raw products, and the transportation of the same. "The Business public will perceive at a glance that it will not be properly safe for any individual or known collection of individuals to arrogate to themselves the right to antagonize the ORGANIZA TION this day created: and notice is hereby given that these commercial terri tories must not be trespassed upon or in vaded without expectation that the full authority vested in the organization will be fully exercised. "The houses engaged in bringing about this organism in the interests of the world's economy, have taken to them selves sucih increment as .has been deemed proper in view of the important character of the service rendered. "Further, the Houses of the world will please take notice that, owing to the immense sums of money now in the hands of the ORGANIZATION, it will be pos sible to force speculation. The banding to- ? ether of the houses of Rothschild, Rocke- eller, Morgan and Carnegie, represent ing the united metal and transportation interests, leaves no room for competition, and any attempt in this direction will be 42 met with the fate which should attach an effort to return to the methods r»f k i ^ar- barism. "Finally, it is our intention ultirnatel to take in hand the smaller industries a H organize them upon a scientific basis cal culated to reduce the waste of human ef" fort to a minimum." The Power of Great Wealth These are the words which might hay been read by every fairly intelligent busi ness man in the advertisement headpH "Office of J. P. Morgan & Co." anj nominally concerning itself with the ex change of certain stocks. Unlike the proc lamation of kings and princes, no man will be found bold enough to defy its or ders. From Mardi 3rd, 1901, the entire aspect of the business and political world will be changed. Financial ambitions will quickly render themselves subservient to this overruling power. The futility of political hopes which do not attach them selves to the financial center will be quickly apparent. The mind is fascinated with the field of operations presented to the controlling minds of this new organization. Two things immediately suggest themselves. It is probable that the danger of financial panic will be minimized. Those having these incalculable interests in their hands will wish for stability of finance. Their hopes are based on the savings resultant from complete organization and the con tinuous labor obtainable only by the gen eral consumption of their products by the public. This consumption can only ac company the prosperity resultant from fi nancial stability. Should, however, any private interest or desire within this new organization seek to extend the borders of conquest by means of panic, and have the power to carry out its desires, the opportunity would be presented to cause untold mis fortune and wretchedness to mankind at large. We now come to the most important question in this connection—the distribu tion of the immense increment resulting from the economies permitted by organ ized effort. Will the dividends be made commensurate with the power? Or will a wisdom superior to any hitherto exer cised in the business or government» Consumers' Cooperation orld fix the earnings at such percentage W will seem reasonable to the public 5nd and prevent unrest? The Responsibility of Power Undoubtedly the matter remains with Mr. Morgan to determine. Upon his de cisions the welfare of the people of the United States—it is not too much to say, the world—depends. With all ores, met als and transportation in his hands, the question is not, what can he tax the pub lic, but what will he? It would be in teresting to penetrate the guiding motives of (he mind of this man at this time. To what extent do Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Morgan realize the far-reaching char acter of this change of base? It is a revo lution so radical in its sweep, so wide in the area affected, that in comparison the most important movements of history be come insignificant. Those of Greece, those of Rome and that of France, substi tuted other men and other measures for existing ones. This substitutes a machine which depends for existence, not upon men, but upon ten thousand parts, any one of which wearing out can be replaced without perceptible stoppage. Because this organism is in the direc tion of perfected economies, there will be no return to the old system. That is gone forever. The law of centralization is the law of nature. A million million orbs moving throughout limitless space are eternally attracting and holding the smaller elements of the universe. One thought more: human effort seien-- tifically directed could supply every real necessity, comfort and pleasure of man kind with hours of labor certainly not to exceed four a day. Sufficient food, com fortable homes and clothes, and proper enjoyment, can all be obtained within four hours of united, properly directed, thoroughly organized labor. It is the ig norance of scientific methods, the dupli cation of tasks, the labor in unprofitable directions, and the endless waste of con- Nict, which keep man the slave he is to- day- : .,:?: Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Morgan have snown their appreciation of the problem « organization. They themselves must be ""Prised at the results. Both have in ^ny ways displayed their desire to be service to those about them. The Problem of Distribution They have together solved the prob lem of production. Will they now apply themselves to the greater and vastly more complex problem of distribution? To the men who would free the world from the superstitions of the competitive system, the greatest wealth was first necessary, because it meant the greatest power. The world has been governed by selfishness. It obeys the commands of unlimited mon ey; therefore accumulated millions were necessary as a fulcrum from which the business world could be pried from its wasteful selfishness. The type of mind required to reorgan ize the world's system of distribution is of the keenest and highest. Will the men who 'have shown such incomparable skill in solving the problem of production find themselves equal to the consideration of the more delicate task of placing mankind on the basis of recognition of one's neigh bor in every labor, gradually removing the more or less real excuse of today that greed is necessary for self protection, and substituting in the business world that in telligent appreciation of our own and our neighbors' wants—a willingness to con cede to others—which we see best ex emplified in the guests brought together around a well-ifilled table? We sit at the bountiful table of Mother Earth and know that there is enough for all. Hitherto it has been a scramble. Are we soon to be assembled under an intelli gence of a higher order, which, after re quiring of each his proper proportion of labor, shall give that reward which will be in degree sufficient? Can It be Solved by Masters of Finance? March 3rd marked the beginning of the most wonderful revolution in the world's 'history.. This will be a bloodless revolu tion and will eventually carry its bles sings to the most remote parts of the earth. Governmental divisions will cease to exist except as a means to carry out mandates decided upon in the executive offices of the world's commercial metrop olis. We are living in what is without doubt the most interesting period of the world's history. Will Messrs. Rockefeller and Morgan, having reduced production to scientific lines, proceed to the analysis of the problem of distribution? 43 They must. W'hat is the meaning of money after it has reached a few millions? It has no more significance for the owner. The building of palaces becomes little more than the setting of toy blocks. The powers held within the hands of the hundred-millionaire struggle for exercise. They must have an outlet. Mr. Rockefeller has hitherto found this opportunity for exercise mainly in the founding of colleges; Mr. Morgan in the endowment of hospitals. That sort of in tellectual effort will do for men with a few tens of millions, but not for activ minds controlling a thousand millions. F C them the final analysis must rest alwav* in the selection of the one problem worthy of engaging the master mind- the Problem of Distribution: ~" How to organize mankind—• First, so that each man will be forced to do his s'hare of the world's work. Second, so that each individual \vfli have the product of his own labor. Third, so that the temptation of man to eat Jiis fellow men may be removed by a scientifically designed system. HOW CAN WE REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH? WE are beginning to realize as a na tion that we are not in any ordi nary depression which will right itself, as has happened before, by the opening up of new lands or the invention of new machines. Instead we are witnessing definite signs of the collapse of our pres ent economic order, as happened to the economic orders of serfdom and slavery. As a result, we are casting about for present palliatives and permanent reme dies. The question of deciding democrat ically on the method to finally adopt must be preceded by careful analysis and understanding by the people as a whole of the basic requirements to bring about "economic justice" for all. Slogans and catch-phrases which promise to bring about greater equality must be only rallying cries for prospec tive political dictators who would event ually impose upon the people still greater inequalities such as we have seen happen in other countries. "Share-the-wealth" or "Restore America to Americans" should not be enough in themselves to cause a people trained in democracy to follow any would-be leader blindly without in sistence upon detailed proposals for car rying out such generalized Utopian state ments. The Problem of Equality The first question for tlie American people to consider is what they definitely want to attain as an objective. What, in other words, do we mean by our demand for "economic equality?" Do we mean absolute equality on income per person or 44 per family? Perhaps we cannot decide what "eventual economic justice" will really mean, and must content ourselves with efforts toward greater equality than we now have and let time answer how far toward actual equality we will want to go. However, this problem should re main in the minds of everyone as the first key question we must eventually decide. The second most vital question and one which must be definitely thought through before any successful program is adopted is whether a just distribution of income also requires a like just dis tribution of o-wnership of capital. The Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, Marriner S. Eccles, in testifying before the House Banking and Currency Com mittee on the banking bill, quoted statis tics from the tables in the book "Amer ica's Capacity to Consume," published by Brookings Institution to the effect that one family at the top of the income list received as muc'h in 1929 as 420 families at the bottom. Using these figures as a background, Mr. Eccles then specifically advocated a redistribution of income but not redistribution of ownership of capital. This is a basic problem. Can income be justly distributed without a correspond- ing redistribution of ownership of capital- Perhaps in some theoretical economy such a result would be possible and the owner ship of capital by a few could continue and the income they received be extracteu from them and justly redistributed alter they once received it. Certainly under the present economic order every attefflp must be made to that end by using m- Consumers' Cooperation e and inheritance taxes to relieve the £°. s of a dying economic order and pre- P01 the possibility of democratic evolu- ser ry action in substituting a new or- j° for the one which is passing, without the necessity of revolutionary action. Redistributing Income is Not Enough ßut while attempts to redistribute in- ffle by means of income and inheritance taxes without a corresponding redistribu- t'on of capital ownership is necessary as a temporary palliative, such action is not final solution without a redistribution of capital ownership as well. Those who own control. They not only control the wealth they own but also control the political organization which is elected. Worker organization has proved unable to redistribute income justly. As soon as wages are raised, prices are raised cor respondingly. Political regulation of pri vate-profit finance, utilities, insurance and industry has also proven its inability to redistribute income justly. Those who receive the incomes also elect or appoint the governmental regulators, which in practical terms means that they do not and will not permit the income they re ceive to be taken away from themselves and be justly redistributed. The people must learn this simple les son. They cannot control what they do not own, by any form of worker or polit ical regulation of capital which is owned by a few. They may, by worker or voter action, produce a redistribution among themselves of scarcity on a more just basis, but without a redistribution of ownership they can neither produce plen ty nor justly divide it. If this reasoning is eventually accepted by (he American people and they deter mine to use their full productive powers to produce plenty for all and to justly di vide it among themselves, then the only final question is, how to regain owner ship by the people of the capital of the country. Shall it be done by acting as citizens or by acting as consumers or as both? We Must Recover Ownership Acting as citizens has its place in re covering ownership by the people of monopolistic utilities. Since we do not now have a national economic organiza tion of society as consumers we can well use our powers as citizens to recover ownership of utilities as a step toward a final organization of ourselves as con sumers. In other words citizen or public ownership as we term it, may be neces sary as a step to consumer ownership of national and local utilities. But the real way to redistribute in comes and recover ownership is, in so far as possible, to use our powers as con sumers directly by organizing Con sumers' Cooperatives, and beginning at the retail end of distribution and follow ing back through wholesaling and manu facturing. Through Consumers' Coopera tive organization we first of all begin to redistribute income more justly by paying back to ourselves in proportion to our purchases the profits which would other wise go into the hands of the few stock- 'holders. Secondly, through such an in crease in our incomes, we then also begin to recover the ownership by the people of the capital equipment of this country. Just redistribution of income is impos sible without a corresponding just redis tribution of ownership. Consumers Coop eration is the real democratic evolutiona ry means which will do both. CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVES IN ACTION Maynard, Mass.—The United Coop erative Society at its annual meeting, rebruary 15, voted to use $1500 of its savings for educational purposes during we coming year. This represented ap proximately five per cent of the net sav- J2SS °f the co°Perative which totaled j • Business showed a marked up- *ard trend during the year. Sales volume advanced 21% beyond the sales for 1935 March, 1937 to a new high mark of $475,931. A yearbook marking the 30th year of the organization and tracing its history since its foundation in 1907 was author ized by the annual meeting. Superior, Wis.—A Cooperative Health Association has been launched here by members of consumers cooperatives,, farm and labor organizations who are 45 anxious to extend to health protection the principles of consumer cooperation. Vet eran cooperators from Central -Coopera tive Wholesale, members of the Peoples Cooperative Society, the Superior Fed eration of Labor, Douglas County Farm ers Union, Workers Alliance and the Northern Wisconsin Cooperative Fed eration have endorsed the -plan and an intensive membership drive is under way. Each member of the new cooperative buys a $5 share of stock and pays a fixed monthly fee, tentatively set at $2.90, which entitles the member and his family to all ordinary medical treatment by doctors employed by the association and to hospitalization in Superior hospitals which endorse the plan. Racine, Wisconsin~-The annual mem bership meeting of the Racine Consumers Cooperative authorized the board of di rectors to buy the building which now houses the cooperative service station, meeting hall and grocery store and to open negotiations for the purchase of the coal yard and petroleum bulk plant. The co-ops sales for 1936 were $111,787 compared to $38,709 during the first nine months of its operation in 1935. William Lloyd, former editor of the Racine Day has been made full time educational di rector of the cooperative. Chicago — The Cooperative Whole sale, Inc., was organized ten months ago to serve cooperative stores and buying clubs in the 'urban sections of Illinois, In diana, Ohio and Southern Michigan. Business in March, 1936, totaled $1700. By January, 1937, the volume had grown to $6,200. In March the wholesale moved to new quarters at 2301 South Millard Ave., where it will have 6,800 square feet of office space providing ample room for both the wholesale and the Central States Cooperative League. Minneapolis — Midland Cooperative Wholesale and thr-ee other cooperative wholesale associations have aranged to take the entire output of an oil refinery in Oklahoma, for distribution through co operatives in 1937. According to the terms of the contract between the coop eratives and the refinery the co-ops will purchase 6,500 tank cars of petroleum products during the year; control of qua lity and production methods will be un der the supervision of a chemist and an 46 auditor to be maintained at the plant h the cooperatives; and division of prof-? between the refinery and the partir'8 pating cooperative wholesales will h~ made at the end of each year of tion. The arrangement will benefit the re finery because of increased efficiency du" to an assured volume while the coopéra tives will share in the savings they raake possible because of mass purchasing power. Similar arrangements have proved very successful in 'the production of commercial fertilizers for cooperative distribution. Superior, Wisconsin — The Coopéra- tive Builder, official organ of the Central Cooperative Wholesale, Northern and Central States Cooperative Leagues, be came America's first cooperative weekly March 6. The Builder was established as the Cooperative Pyramid Builder in 1925. The decision to change from a bi-weekly followed an intensive drive which added 8,000 new subscribers and assured the economic success of the venture. Indianapolis—The following resolution on consumers cooperatives was adopted by the 18t'h Annual Convention of the Indiana Farm Bureau: We approve the action of the board of Directors of the Indiana Farm Bureau Co operative Association setting forth the follow ing understanding of the principles of Coop eration: (1) "Cooperative Marketing of agricultural products as a means of returning to the pro ducer a greater compensation for his labor expended and his capital invested. (2) "Cooperative Purchasing of supplies used by farmers in production as a means to protect him as a buyer and return to him tiie savings effected. (3) "We favor the organization of urban cooperatives. We disapprove the expenditure of funds to be used in their organization. We favor furnishing them assistance and _ advice in setting up their own cooperatives." Omaha—The 24th Annual Convention of the Farmers Educational and Cooper ative Union of Nebraska meeting here February 10 and 11 approved the follow ing resolution on urban cooperatives: Whereas, There has been a marked and steady increase in the past few years in tue growth of both rural and ufban cooperative organizations, and . Whereas, The cooperative movement, m order that it may attain its greatest grown and reach its most worthy ends, must visio- and assist in the development of each typ« cooperative, be it Consumers' Cooperation Resolved, That the harmonious relationship xisting between the consumer groups and the £arketing and producer cooperatives be culti- ted and increased, and that we request our Vfficers and directors to formulate plans and °uthorize them to promote such plans for con- dstent working relationship between such oaperative associations, all suoh plans to be in the interests of both rural and urban asso ciations and in accord with the promotion as a whole. \Ve recommend that oil stations and cream stations put in a small supply of merchandise, and thereby lay the foundation for coopera tive stores. Washington, D. C.—The truth will out! The last of February the Federal Trade Commission submitted to news papers for publication March 2 a report of the findings of a^ special study on "Aqricultural Income" which has just been submitted to Congress. The report recommended anti-trust legislation and consumers cooperatives as effective meth ods of meeting the exploitation of both the consumer and the producer under ex isting economic conditions. "For the consumer," the report as serted, "the heavy costs of distribution cannot expect to be kept in satisfactory check without consumer cooperatives and the increased consumption that might thereby be obtained for the great masses of the people would also be of substantial benefit to the farmers." On Monday, March 1, according to Federated Press, the Federal Trade Com mission sent around a little note saying that this paragraph had been included by mistake and that it was to be deleted. Before the release date on the Federal Trade Commision report expired the Institute of American Meat Packers had a note in newspaper offices "explaining" several of the items in the report. New York^-Cooperative education is rapidly becoming a dominant factor in the eastern movement. Special courses in consumers cooperation" are now being taught at Teachers College, Columbia University and at the New School for Social Research. A cooperative institute and a short technical course for cooperative man agers will be conducted by the Eastern ^operative League in July. Ihe American Peoples School has an nounced its Second Annual Cooperative Leadership Training Course for July and AUSust. Instructors will include Anthony March, Lehner, former director of education for the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Dr. Jay B. Nash, head of the department of Physical Education, New York University, and Dr. Horace M. Kallen, professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research. Leaders of New York cooperatives will deliver spe cial lectures during the summer. The course is expected to draw students from all sections of the country. Economy, Indiana — The Cooperative Health Association was organized in 1936 under the aggressive leadership of Paul Turner, DeiPauw University senior. The human interest in a group of peo ple in a small community solving their problem of medical service and setting up a system of preventive medicine attracted the attention of Phillips Lord, one time radio "Seth Parker" and now master of ceremonies on a Sunday afternoon fea ture called "We the People." Paul Tur ner was invited to New York to broad cast a five minute dramatized description of the cooperative March 7th. But when a script of the talk was submitted, one of the continuity writers labeled it "social ized medicine." The advertising agency handling the program got the "jitters" and three days before the program Paul Turner received a wire canceling his en gagement because of "circumstances and conditions which we cannot buck." BOOK REVIEWS Towards the Cooperative Commonwealth, T. W. Mercer. The Cooperative Press, Limited, Man chester, England. 220 pps. ............ $3.35 (Order through The Cooperative League) The outstanding characteristics of this new book on cooperation in England are that the author has an intimate first hand knowledge of his subject, that he has faith in its triumphant future, that he has an interesting style, and that he stresses the im portant. He has produced a book that the reviewer recommends to all cooperators who wish to obtain an understanding of the origin, development and present activities of the cooperative movement in England. Furthermore, the English movement has faced many problems that the movement in this country is likely to encounter in its future develop ment. The author divides his book into eight sections, the first seven tracing the movement from the prophets in 1750 to the present time when one half of the families are associated with the move ment. The last section of the book is devoted to the possibilities of Cooperation. Mr. Mercer shows that while the Rochdale pioneers were influenced by Robert Owen and his followers, they contributed important practical 47 principles to the movement. He shows why workers' or producers' cooperatives widely sup ported by well-intentioned reformers failed. It is important to note that the early cooperators were not mere shopkeepers but declared that the coop eratives should aim to expand their activities to include housing, distribution, production, educa tion and government. Several chapters are devoted to the origin and development of the British and the Scottish whole sale societies, the Cooperative Union to unify and consolidate the movement, the insurance and bank ing organizations, cooperative education and pub lications. The twentieth century brings with it the further growth of the movement such as the acquisition of tea lands in Ceylon and India and wheat lands in Canada, and the expansion of wholesaling and manufacturing. The War gave private enterprise many opportunities to iniure cooperative enter prise. This War-time hostility caused the cooper ators to give up their time honored custom of political neutrality. The Cooperative Party was formed and has elected several representatives to Parliament. Recent years have seen an increased amount of education and publicity, the more effective use of business methods, amalgamation of societies, and the introduction of a system of modified install ment selling of certain goods. One of the weaknesses of the cooperative move ment has been its inability to act quickly as h in emergencies. The 1932 national congress of" operatives sought to remedy this situation l°" authorizing the formation "of a new authority tl the Cooperative movement to which shall be d 1 gated the decision on all matters of Natio i Policy arising between Congresses. The Author^ includes representatives from the CooperaH Union, the British and the Scottish wholesale cieties, the Cooperative Press, the Productive Fed eration, and the Cooperative Party." a" In 1935 the British movement formulated a Te Year Plan of expansion and education to culminate in 1944 as commemorative of the formation of th Rochdale Society. ^ Mr. Mercer's book is a history of a "system ol society within which no substantial flaw has re- vealed itself during a century of practical ex" perience. The Cooperative movement, obeying ib own inherent law of continuous and uninterrupted growth, has expanded from small retail storekeep- ing to nation-wide wholesale trading; from distribu tion to production and large scale manufacture; from banking to insurance: and from d:rect im- portation to overseas exchange." The careful reading of this book should be both an inspiration and a challenge to cooperators in this country. Arthur E. Albrecht Associate Professor of Economics College of the City of New York THE PRESS BOOSTS CONSUMERS' COOPERATION (It is impossible for the editors to see every ar ticle published on Consumers Cooperation. We would appreciate a note calling our attention to any important articles which have been omitted.) Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engine- men's Magazine, February, "Racine Workers Build a Cooperative," William Lloyd. Business Digest, January, "The Co-op Movement," Paul Kunninq, reprinted from Commerce. February, "Consumer Co-ops," from Implement and Tractor. Business Week, February 6, "F.D.R. Cold on Co ops," an editorial note. Central-Blatt and Social Justice, January, "Coop eration and Credit Unions." February, "Successful Cooperation Requires Educational Work," L. S. Herron. Chicago Journal of Commerce, Reprint of a Series of Ten Articles on Consumer Cooperatives, by L. B. Breedlove. Christian Science Monitor, November 14, 1936, "Sweden's Full Dinner Pail," A. G. Dehly. Consumers Guide, February 8, "A Town of Co- operators—Maynard, Mass." The Cow Bell, February, "Finland, A Nation of Cooperators," Elizabeth McG. Graham. Current Digest, February, "A Cooperative Town," Lawrence Dukey. Fact, December and November, 1936, News items on Cooperatives. Fortune, March, "Consumer Cooperatives." Free America, February, "Cooperative Notes." Health Digest, February, "Cooperative Medicine in Czechoslovakia." 48 The Index, December, 1936, "Consumer Coopera tives." Journal of Education Sociology, January, "A Stu dent Venture in Cooperative Living," Arthur E. Albrecht. Landward, Winter, "The Cooperative Movement and the Liturgical Movement," Rev. Virgil Michel, O.S.B. Labor Bulletin, December-January, "Labor and the Cooperatives." Miami Business Review, December-January, "The Consumer Cooperative Movement," Harold A. Baker. Monthly Labor Review, January, "Consumers' Co operation Throughout the World in 1935." Nation's Business, January, "The Co-op Moves to the City," Leslie G. Moeller. New York Post, February 27, t "Experts Split on U. S. Help to Cooperatives." News for Farmer Cooperatives, February, "New High Reached in Co-op Buying." Plan Age, February, "Some Aspects of European Cooperatives," Clark Kerr. "Cooperatives in Germany," Fritz Ermarth. Rural America, January, "The Delta Cooperative Farm," Sam H. Franklin, Jr. , February, "The Consumer Movement and me Farmer," Donald E. Montgomery. Survey, March, "Measuring the Cooperatives, Clark Kerr. , Wall Street Journal, January 21, "Co-ops an Government," Editorial. World Christianity, January-March, "Reconstruc tion in China," the role of cooperatives. Consumers' Cooperation CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE - PLENTY • DEMOCRACY Volume XXIII. No. 4 APRIL 1937 Ten Cents COOPERATIVE VIEWPOINTS Let dead hearts tarry, trade and marry And trembling nurse their dreams of mirth While we, the living, our lives are giving To bring the bright new world to birth. —William Morris • . " '•• Now we have a modern economic definition of a Tory and a Liberal. A To ry, says the New York Post, is one who thinks first of production; a Liberal is one who thinks first of consumption. • "Education is the soul of the Coopera tive Movement, as business is its body. A cooperative will die which loses either its soul or its body."—Cecil R. Crews, Assistant Secretary, Northern States Co operative League. • A significant letter from the Financial Secretary of a local labor union in Cleve land says, "A group of union members interested in the Cooperative Movement in this city have formed their various dubs into a Federation of Cooperative Clubs." The letter concludes, "It appears that the rapid growth of the Cooperative Movement deserves more than super ficial attention. We do not know of two more tragic statements which have ever been made by high government officials in the United States than .the statement of President Roosevelt, which he continu ously emphasises by repetition, "I see a nation pne?,third, ill fed, ill clothed, ill housed." The other is a statement by ' Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wal lace, made at the opening session of the Committee on Farm Tenancy, "In the past half century, while we hoped we were building a secure rural 'foundation for our civilization, we were actually converting owner farmers into tenants, and at the same time chiseling away the equities of those not yet converted." • "Here is a family. The family is or ganized on the cooperative principle. That is what makes it a family. Those in the family think in terms of the weaker. Suppose you try to run that family on the same basis that you try to run our eco nomic order. Suppose, for instance, the elder son should come down for break fast. He grabs everything he can pos sibly lay his hands on and piles it on his plate. Would the others of the family ex claim, 'You are a successful youth?' Would they? They would be outraged. They would say, 'You are utterly un-co- operative; you are utterly un-family; you spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people. In Publl y assoclatlon' Purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. E R p6*1 montMy fcy The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th Street, New Tork City. 6" falter. Wallace J. Campbell, Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative d Educational Directors of Cooperative Wholesales and District Leagues.____ as Second Class Matter, December 19,1911, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., under the Act of March S, 1879. Price tl-00 a year. are utterly un-social.' You could not run the family a week on the competitive principle. It would break up every home in the land overnight. Because it wouldn't be a family; it would be a feud. And yet we wonder why it is that when that prin ciple is applied to our economic life it so disrupts, and is so full of confusion, and so full of war. It is bound to be with that principle." Dr. E. Stanley Jones in an address at Cincinnati in January. • Dr. M. M. Coady, Director of the Ex tension Department of St. Francis Xavier University, has offered to conduct an Institute and organize a tour to see co operative study circles, stores, credit un ions, lobster factories, and other types of cooperative organizations in Nova Scotia in action. He writes, "There never was anything like the development that has gone on here during the last few months. We are all looking on with amazement. We will have something to show every body next summer, I think." The general details of the tour to Nova Scotia in Au gust were announced in the February is sue of Consumers' Cooperation. Com plete plans will be mailed to those who are interested. • A summary of information relative to Kooperativa Forbundet of Sweden, de scribes their production policy as follows: "The leading principle of K.F.'s produc tion policy is to concentrate all efforts at one time on one single article chosen from those consumed in large quantities, and to begin production only in case K.F. is able to start a factory as well-equipped and efficient as the best in the country. This policy of setting a single goal at a time before the movement has the further advantage of creating conditions con ducive to loyalty and united effort. Also, as the article chosen is always one whose price seems unreasonably high, the action of K.F. gains a wide popularity and -the sympathetic collaboration of the public." • Action taken at the Annual Meetings of Consumers Cooperative Association, North Kansas City, Missouri, and Farm ers Union State Exchange, Omaha, Nebraska, of a similar nature, indicates a trend in the Cooperative Movement. The Cooperative Consumer, published by CCA, says, "Shareholders of the 50 wholesale at its annual meeting last passed a resolution that retail units under its management should be cha into a strictly local set-up and steps being taken by shareholders to take the operation of their local business. The Nebraska Union Farmer. D,,i, lished by the FUSE, says, "The acfe taken at the annual meeting of the Stat Exchange in adopting a resolution pro£ viding that the patrons of any retail store or oil station of the Exchange may f0rm a cooperative association and take it over is a very notable step in the evolution of our cooperative wholesale." In previous years the Indiana and Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Associations have followed a similar course of turning back into the hands of autonomous local organizations cooperatives which former ly were handled direct by the wholesale. • Americans should watch closely the developments in France in connection with the latest moves of Premier Leon Blum's Popular Front. Apparently the Premier has now decided that France needs an opportunity to catch its breath, and to permit the results of the rapid legislative program which was passed wihen the Popular Front took control, to crystalize and the results to be more de finitely determined. "The outcome," it is said, "will depend more than anything else on the common sense of the working class, and their contentment with what they (have got and on moderation in profit seeking by tlhose who sell." The peoples of the world are aroused over the ex cesses of the competition-for-profit sys tem. If those who are in control of the present system will accept less profits and the people will accept a step-at-a- time evolution, politically democratic countries may be able to move forward into economic democracy without a vio lent upheaval. • According to C. V. Gregory, member of the President's Inquiry on Cooperative Enterprise in Europe the elimination ot financial racketeering appealed to him as perhaps the greatest accomplishment o the Consumers' Cooperative Movement. In his address before the recent 111^ Agricultural Association Annual Conve tion on "Consumers' Cooperatives ano Farmers," he emphasized this virtue ,he movement as follows: "In addition to cutting down distribu- • e costs, a saving which, of course has "v to the benefit of consumers either in 9° er prices or in patronage dividends, the greatest accomplishment of the Con- jner Cooperatives in Europe has been the elimination of financial racketeering. There, as here, it is customary in private business for finance to have a rather joininating voice. When a business of anv size is organized, the bankers come •n the brokers come in, the people who make a business of financing business. There are extensive promotion schemes, commissions on stock and all .that stuff about which I need not remind you. "The Consumers Cooperative, in so far as it has entered into the field of busi ness, has almost completely eliminated this. Starting out in a small way with fi nancing by its members, building up re serves rapidly with no banker combina tion, no control from the financial ele ment in the community, racketeering is practically eliminated. I -think perhaps that has been its greatest accomplish ment." THE COOPERATIVE STORES ARE COMING With all due respect to the great- ac complishments which the Cooperative Movement has made in America in the way of purchasing farm supplies such as feed and fertilizer, petroleum products, etc., it is unquestionably true that the time has arrived for the more rapid develop ment of the cooperative purchasing of home supplies as well. The Secretary of the International Co operative Alliance, Mr. H. J. May, em phasizes the great importance of supply ing our "elemental human needs" through cooperation. When Sir William Dudley, who has just recently retired as the Presi dent of the Cooperative Wholesale So ciety of Great Britain, was in America on his last trip, he stated that he found it dif ficult to understand why America had developed so far in the purchase of feed for cows' stomachs and comparatively so little in food 'for human stomachs. However, now in Minnesota and Wis consin the Cooperative stores are moving southward; stimulated by the success of stores affiliated with the Central Coop erative Wholesale of Superior, people are going from gasoline to groceries. An illustration is the Isanti County Cooper ative at Cambridge, Minnesota, which opened a store division and increased its volume to $65,000 in 1936 as compared w'th $49,000 its first year, 1935. A chain «ore located next door has given up and ne co-op is leasing its space to provide aCional room. New stores are developing in Nebras- St '»" ccnnection with the Farmers Union 'ate Exchange. An illustration is the Ore at Grand Island, which started late Consumers' Coopérât^0 April, 1937 in July, 1936, and saved $1,100.18, or more than 5% on sales totaling nearly $20,000 from July to the close of the year. The grocery division opened by Con sumers Cooperative Association of North Kansas City in 1936 went over the top with a net saving to the wholesale the first year. A new cooperative van was put in operation on March 3, which will serve three routes. On its first trip it car ried stock to fill the shelves of a new co operative store opened by the Consumers Cooperative Association of Winfield. Kansas, one of a number of new stores which are developing in that area. There is a real kick in visfting the stores in the Chicago area, which are members of The Cooperative Wholesale. The cooperatives at Hyde Park, Evans- ton and Racine are outstanding examples of the fact that city people can organize and operate their own successful stores handling groceries, meat and milk. Since the Eastern Cooperative Whole sale of New York City has moved down into the wholesale district and has begun to stock cooperative labeled products, its business has increased from $2,700 the first month to $15,500 the sixth month. Other cooperative wholesales in the feed and fertilizer and petroleum prod ucts fields should consider strongly sup plying their members with home supplies as well as farm supplies. The evidence is unquestioned that such products can be handled and money saved in a coopera tive way. The opening of their grocery division was one of the greatest things they ever did, according to Mr. Howard A. Cowden, President of CCA. 51 LABOR'S POCKETBOOK THE Consumers' Cooperative Move ment is interested in every develop ment in Labor Union organization which leads toward the building of an economic democracy. We do not, however, permit ourselves to be drawn into controversial discussions relative to industrial versus craft unionism, or sit-down versus walk out strikes. We are not for any one part of Labor but for all. Our concern is pri marily as to what Labor is going to do after the present wave of strikes is over and after Labor has solved its own in ternal conflicts. The Consumers' Cooperative Move ment is basically concerned with increas ing the amount of real wages in Labor's Pocketbook. Real wages are another name for the relation of wages to prices, a measure of buying power. If prices go up as much or more than pay, then there is no real gain in purchasing power. The Consumers' Cooperative Movement be lieves that if Labor is to gain increased purchasing power, it must control prices as well as pay. Workers Must Control Prices Donald E. Montgomery, Consumers' Counsel of the A.A.A., says, "The man who works for a living must think how he spends as well as how he earns." George Soule, an Editor of The New Re public, declares, "The broad truth is that Labor in the end derives little benefit from organization to control wages un less prices can also be controlled in the interest of the masses of the consumers." Rev. R. A. McGowan, Assistant Di rector of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Con ference, warns that "Union recognition and collective bargaining are far from the full answer. The Steel Trust gave us an example when it raised wages, a little and prices much. Labor gained some, but it loses by later unemployment, and the country loses. And then will come more trouble. Prices have to be reached." Nor man Thomas likewise emphasizes the fact that price increases will absorb wage gains. "No process of collective bargain ing, important as they are, can of them selves provide us with plenty, peace and freedom, while absentee owners control 52 the means of production and distribut' and operate them for private profit T}?^ will always be able to absorb at U^ the large part of wage gains in price Hst creases." A headline in a labor paper "Consumers Must Hold Down ' and challenges Labor that "It is time"th\ workers began to organize more power fully as consumers to stop the boss " from taking back in higher prices th extra cash many have given in higher wages." The Blum Government in France es tablished higher minimum wages, but now it is admitted that "the whole cost of the social reforms has been shoved over to the consumer with a celerity that is remarkable." In America our middle man-monopoly distribution system oper ates even faster. The steel monopoly pm increased prices in effect even before it issued its first pay check at increased rates. It will not be long until the in creased prices of steel are reflected in in creased prices of food, clothing and shel- I ter for steel workers who will likely find that their real wages or puchasing power has not been increased. Wage increases are nullified promptly under a private- profit economic system by price in creases. The Way to Control Prices Is as Consumers The problem is how can Labor control prices as well as pay. History offers definite answers-. The Rochdale Pioneers organized first as a labor union in order to increase their pay. Not succeeding in increasing their purchasing power as ^ much as they desired, they turned to political action, and likewise shortly found that political action was not enough. They then discovered the prac tical method of controlling prices by or ganizing as consumers into Cooperatives, starting from retailing and reaching into wholesaling and manufacturing. After the World War, the farmers of America took the same general course. There was a widespread wave of organi zation as producers into marketing coop eratives. Farmers then turned to tne Consumers' Cooperation government to endeavor to se- "e assistance in raising the prices of (jr products to offset industrial tariffs. Rt^soon they added to producer and litical action the organization of them- P°]ves as consumers into cooperative pur- sf jng associations and have thereby fwered prices and made large savings • the commodity lines into which they jîave entered. Labor is now rapidly organizing as producers and forcing up wages. Labor •c likewise increasing its political power. But Labor must shortly realize, as the farmers of America did after the World War, and as the Rochdale workers did ninety years ago, that to really increase the amount of purchasing power in their pocketbooks, they must organize them selves into Consumers' Cooperatives' and begin to take over the ownership of the means of distribution and production, starting first with retail businesses and thereby beginning to control prices. Getting Value for the Goods You Buy The Monthly Survey of Business of the A. F. of L. of March 18, 1937, sounds the challenge, "Labor is consumer as well as producer. What is given workers in wage increases is taken away by price increases, preventing the lifting of living standards and the expansion of the mass market. Can private business with its thirst for profits be counted on to keep prices at the lowest possible level while increasing wages? Experience in other countries indicates that Consumers' Co operation alone gives wage earners a sure way of reducing prices and getting value for the goods they buy." The President of the Bank of Finland says that "the cooperatives control the price level." It is also true in Sweden and other countries. There the people have demonstrated that the only way to con trol prices is to organize yardsticks in the form of Consumers' Cooperative Asso ciations which effectively prevent mid- ole-man-monopoly control of prices. Kaising pay by Labor Union organiza tion and lowering prices by Consumers' Cooperative organization has narrowed the margin of profits in those countries and thus increased the purchasing power ot agricultural and industrial workers generally. This has taken the brakes off the wheels of industry and increased pro- duction to the place where unemployment is largely eliminated. The workers of those countries have not fooled them selves into believing that they can depend upon the voluntary action of private- profit business in lowering prices or upon the political government to regulate them. They have instead organized themselves into cooperatives and have proven that they can control prices by their own con sumer economic organizations. American Labor Leadership Challenged The time towards which the Con sumers' Cooperative Movement in Amer ica has been looking with high hopes is. getting close. The groundwork has been laid. Farmers in America have led the way on a wide scale and have shown how to successfully organize Consumers' Cooperatives to control prices. .Stores and oil stations organized in cities have proven that industrial and office workers can successfully operate their own busi nesses and reduce prices by patronage dividends on their purchases. We appeal to Labor not to permit the increase in pay which it is now gaining to be taken away by increased prices. We call upon labor leaders and members to orcranize as con sumers as well as producers. The Con sumers' Cooperative Movement in Amer-, ica, which is yet more largely an organi zation of agricultural workers, reaches out its hand to industrial workers and says, "Come on. Join with us as con sumers in organizing cooperative grocery stores, oil stations, insurance associa tions, medical service and every other type of cooperatives, and together we will solve the problems of unemployment and poverty and achieve a just distribu tion of ownership, jobs and income." • CO-OP REPORT AVAILABLE The report of the President's Commis sion of Inquiry on Cooperative Enter prise in Europe will be available for dis tribution in a few days. The report covers cooperatives in 10 European coun tries and the relations of cooperatives to private-profit business, labor and political movements. Copies of the report can be secured free of charge by writing the Co-op Com mission, W.P.A., Washington, D. C. SCOTTISH COOPERATIVES AT WORK (Editor's Note: Mr. Murray is editor of the Scottish Cooperatot and a Director of The Scottish •Cooperative Wholesale Society. He was formerly a member of the British House of Commons, and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Scottish of ficer, and in MacDonald's First Labor Govern ment. He recently visited America on a Buying Mission for the S. C. W. S.) IN the discussions on precept and prac tice in regard to Consumers' Coopera tion which are now going on so active ly in America, may one who is familiar with the precepts, and deeply concerned in the practice of Cooperation venture to add a little to the argument? By its most uncompromising advocates it is claimed that Cooperation'—if applied to the production and distribution of goods for consumption would go far to wards eliminating the irregularities and disorders which disturb Trade and Com merce, and become the basis for an or derly, reasonable and peaceful industrial order. And even, if, say these advocates, this is too much to demand of it, at any rate its operations inside the existing sys tem can do much to mitigate the harsh nesses of unbridled capitalism. May a few illustrations be quoted from Scotland where Cooperation has had a long and interesting history? Historical data we may, at the moment, spare beyond saying that the important years of initial activity were from 1860 till 1880. Today, cooperative organiza tion in Scotland is represented by local distributive societies in every city and town, and in nearly all the villages in the country. These district Societies collect from Cooperative Societies and from pri vate trade the goods which their members use or consume, and it is no exaggeration to say that at least ninety per cent of all articles of food, clothing, furniture, amusement or luxury desired by the mo dern man, woman, or child, can be pro cured inside the organization, not only of the large societies but of the small ones as well. For these local societies have formed a federation and have established a central productive and distributive or ganization which is without rival, in wealth, in size, in complexity and variety of activities in the country. Its function 54 Robert Murray 1 Director of The ~ Cooperative Wholesale ~-^iy is to collect materials and foods from tli primary sources of supply and then f complete the task of processinq rmrV; ° til i- i r- • i i 3 r^UÜno and wholesaling the finished articles t the distributive local societies. ° Scotland's Hundred Million Now, Scotland is a small country ~not nearly so large as some of the individual states in the American Union. Its climate soil and natural resources are by no means generous, and as a consequence it •has always been regarded as one of the poorest members of the family of Euro pean countries. In the light of these facts the few figures about to be quoted may seem exaggerated. But they are accurate, and verifiable by anyone who may be interested. The Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society was established in 1868 and at the end of its first year had capital worth $25,000, and had done a trade of $400,000. Last year cooperative sales topped one-hundred-million dollars; an increase for the year of five-million dollars. In the beginning of its current financial year S. C. W. S. budgeted for an estimated increase of $7,500,000 over 1935, and has gone beyond the desired increase; so that the wholesale trade done by this central cooperative organization in the small country of Scotland touched a total for the year of sixty-eight million dollars in value. In any ordinary private trade business, this great body of manufacture and trade would be expected to yield rich profits to its stockholders—that indeed would be the chief purpose for which the business has been transacted. But with the Scot tish Cooperative Wholesale Society profit is a very subsidiary affair. It func tions, not to make surpluses, but to pass on the goods which it manufactures or collects at the lowest possible cost to the local distributing societies, thus enabling the latter to meet the keenest competition of private trade, and to pass on the ad vantage to their own members—the ulti mate consumers. And it is at this point- the point of final distribution—that any profits made by the Movement take shape, and are handed to the members, Consumers' Cooperation are at once the owners of the entire nization anc^ t^ie consumers °f its °r9ducts, in the form of a patronage divi- Pr° i ^ that point the rate of dividend determined by the local Management R rd, anc^ is dependent on the success h'ch'has attended their business efforts. •The dividend is therefore— within limits 1 variable, ranging from 10 per cent to Î5 per cent, and the mean of these figures \lV-> Per cent °f sales is about the «rage for Scotland. Thus, the 829,000 3 embers of Scottish Cooperative Socie- Ues-'representing roughly 75 per cent of the families of Scotland— pay the market orice for their goods and at the end of the accountancy period are credited with a \ïV-i Per cent dividend, which is theirs to draw out of the business or leave in- the business as they individually deter mine. Cooperative Savings But there is another important finan cial advantage which the Scottish Coop- erator derives from his local organiza tion. It is his Bank, in which he can de posit—and withdraw at any time— what ever savings he may have. The safety of this Bank, as shall be shown immediately is beyond question— and his society pays him interest on his money at a rate which is invariably slightly above the existing bank rate. Share Capital— restricted to a total of $1,000 per member— receives a little more interest than Loan Capital: the former being at the moment 4 to 4J/2 Per cent, and the latter 3 to 3J/£ per cent. In 1935 the trade of the Scottish Coopera tive Distributive Societies aggregated $180,000,000, and the patronage dividend at an average of 12% per cent would be $22,000,000. With that as a pay-back, and with y/2 per cent to 4J/£ per cent on his invested capital, it can be seen that the Scottish Coooerator is doing exceed ingly well out of this self-help business, and the results would seem to suggest that his race still maintains its character for shrewd, keen, careful thriftiness. In addition to these cash advantages 'he local societies provide their members with many other benefits— Social Circles, Men's Guilds, Women's Guilds, Ambu- fc*ce Circles, Nursinq Classes, Cooking , Uasses; Musical, Elocution and Dra matic Schools for juveniles and adults. "E e, and evening classes organized I 1937 more definitely for vocational teaching and training make up a total of services difficult to estimate in money terms, but of undoubtedly high value in the business and social life of the country. The Central Ganglion But, I should like to return for a little to the nerve center of all this Scottish Cooperative activity.—the Scottish Co operative Wholesale Society. This is the expression of the will for production of the cooperators of Scotland. It is a Fed erated Autonomy, controlled by twelve full-time Directors chosen by popular election and subject to re-election, every two years. Every vacancy, by death or superannuation, is warmly contested. But it is notable that since 1880 when the job became a full-time one, no director once elected has ever been rejected at subse quent elections. A testimony, at once to the care with which directors are chosen and to the loyalty of the rank and file of the membership. There has never been a scare, a scandal, or a loss round which a demand for removal of a director could crystallize. The Capital—Share and Deposit—of the S. C. W. S. is now $53.000,000. This represents the shares held by the "locals," plus their additional deposits, and the direct deposits of individuals in the con cern. For the S. C. W. S. acts as the Bank of the Movement, and it pays to its Society members, and its individual de positors a rate of interest approximating to, but usually a little higher than the cur rent bank rates. The ability to pay ovei the market rate of interest is secured by an accountancy staff and an accounting system, the direction of which is always towards security and away from the at tractions and dangers of speculation. The result of this policy was recently re flected in the grudging tribute of a states man in the House of Commons, who, seeking to justify a discriminatory tax against Cooperatives, said, that formerly the symbol of financial integrity was "As sound as the Bank of England," but was now "As sound as the Cooperative Move ment." We have just said that the S. C. W. S. fights shy of the dangers of the specula tive market. But it exhibits no shyness in the face of the legitimate risks of honest production. It has used its capital at 55 J home; in Ireland, in Canada, in India, in Ceylon, in West Africa; boldly but care fully and successfully in the collection and production of the goods its members require. It owns and uses profitably al most 100 factories and warehouses in various parts of Scotland. Many of these factories are the largest of their kind in the country. They represent every type of production—food, furniture, clothing, boots, floor-coverings, tobaccos, drugs, cosmetics, candies, jute-products, etc. The Society is a direct purchaser on all the primary markets of the world- fruit, packed goods, lumber and petro leum products in America; wheat, packed salmon and fruits in Canada, where it owns its own elevators and has an in terest in a large tract of land. Incidental ly, in its flour mills in Scotland, it grinds 80,000 bushels of Canadian wheat per week into flour, in addition to the wheat it buys in America, the Argentine, Aus tralia and the home-market. And when the wheat is ground into cooperative flour and is baked in cooperative ovens it goes —to cooperative tables at 15 cents per 4 pound loaf;—and with a 12^ per cent patronage dividend! These are solid ad vantages which no fine-spun theorizings can discredit or discount. Cooperative Labor Policy It would add interest to this brief sketch if space had made it possible to tell something of the S. C. W. S. arrange ments with labor. It will, however, serve to indicate the position if it is noted that every employee must carry his or her trade union card; that in every case trade union wages and conditions apply> a , in many instances trade union conditi0 are bettered. The trade union wage f"8 example, is paid for a 48 hour week a] though the hours actually worked are 44~ there are full vacations with fui] p ; sickness allowances; and finally superan nuation, under which all employees retit" at 75 with pensions ranging from one fourth to one-half of salary (or Wages) according to the years of service. The attitude of this Consumers Move ment towards Producers Cooperation will be indicated by this fact, that when the Scottish Milk Marketing Board fixed the price to be paid the farmer for his milk, and the rate to be allowed the S. C W. S. for distribution, the latter pro tested that the distribution rate was higher than it need be! Nothing has been said in this brief survey about the basic differences be tween the principles of cooperative, and capitalistic trade — the topic which so many American newspapers, magazines and American politicians and business men are at present engaged in discussing. But to the writer of this article it seems evident that the methods of cooperative ownership and control, with cooperative division of surpluses which have been ap plied so successfully in the instances quoted, need not be shut out from any section of the work of America, or of the world. And if the cooperative system was extended to all industry, it would go far towards ending the competition and the disorder in trade, which, today are the principal roots from which national and international disorders arise. COOPERATION ADVANCES IN A MID-WEST COMMUNITY Wade Crawford Barclay WHAT chance have Consumers' Co operatives in middle-class com munities in the United States? Can peo ple of the upper middle class with above- average incomes be interested in devel oping and operating Cooperatives? Can Cooperatives be developed and main tained including a representative cross section of the population? The development of the Evanston Consumers' Cooperative during the past 56 eighteen months offers a significant con tribution toward answering these ques tions. Evanston, Illinois, is a suburban city of 65,000, adjoining the city of Chicago on the north. It is the largest of the North Shore suburbs of which others are VVd- mette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Hubbard. Woods, Glencoe and Highland Park. Evanston is the seat of Northwestern University and during its earlier was predominantly a college town. cently it has taken on the aspects of a r DjCal suburban community, together ih adjoining towns, becoming the dor- W'tory of the prosperous Chicago busi- "ess and professional class. It has been n serted to be the wealthiest community 3f its size in the United States. However, 0 has many people of low income. The Negro population is approximately 9000. There is a small group of low income foreign-speaking industrial workers. Craft workers—carpenters, painters, and others constitute a considerable group. Wilmette js a smaller community, similar in general character. Winnetka, due in part to the influence of its progressive schools, in part to the influence of its remarkably successful municipally-owned light plant, and to other influences, is ex ceptional in the social interest and pro gressive attitudes of many of its people. Evanston Consumers' Cooperative Organized In April, 1935, a dozen adventurous spirits organized a cooperative buying dub. Meetings were held at frequent in tervals, deliveries of staples were made at a central depot, members increased. In July, formal organization of the Evanston Consumers' Cooperative was effected. On October 17 constitution and by-laws were adopted, a Board of fifteen direc tors authorized, and on October 23 a modest building, centrally located, and fairly well adapted to use as a store (1000 Foster Street) was occupied. Growth during the first eighteen months is as follows: Number of members Paid-in share capita! Gross sales at retail: groceries and milk Net savings: all operations 0 Total net worth 0 Patronage dividend paid 0 General reserve 0 July Dec. June Dec. 1 31 30 31 1935 1935 1936 1936 30 105 206 320 0 $490 $1156 $2532 0 2119 11,390 18,976 100 315 1,498 718 2,355 5,944 590 1,539 4,135 52 58 781 ror the first fiscal period a patronage dividend of 2% per cent was paid; for the second 3 per cent; and for the third. 3 Per cent. On March 15, 1937, as this is written, membership stands at 355. A eat market is in process of installation. st uCef include a reasonably complete ck of groceries, fruits, and vegetables; Consumers' Cooperation April, 1937 a full milk route distributing superior quality milk from an identified source; gas and oil supplied to members through a special arrangement with a gas station at a refund to the Cooperatives of 2% cents per gallon of gas; and a Credit Union recently organized, growing rapid ly. For several months a committee has been .actively promoting the idea of a Department of Medical and Dental Care, meeting considerable encouragement. In the meantime the Chicago Plan for Hospital Care has become operative and Evanston Consumers' Cooperative has qualified as a member group. Steady growth continues. Interest in the community has noticeably increased. No strongly antagonistic attitudes have been manifested. Within recent months numerous organizations,—the Woman's Club, the League of Women Voters, the Carpenters' Union, organizations of the churches, and others, have had addresses on consumers' cooperation by advocates of the Movement. The University Club and the Chamber of Commerce have •heard addresses critical in tone. The Evanston Consumers' Cooperative is very definitely on the map of the North Shore, with membership drawn not only from Evanston but from seven of the North Shore suburbs. Reasons for a Measure of Success It is noc assumed that the permanence of the E. C. C. is assured. It may very well be that the most difficult and trying days of the organization are ahead. But a measure of success has been achieved and the rapidity of growth of the organiza tion has occasioned widespread comment. Many have asked: What is the explana tion of the unusual success? The follow ing are suggested as the most significant reasons: 1. À nucleus of convinced cooperates. Within the little group which first met as a cooperative buying club less than two years ago were several persons of strong social convictions, clear discernment, convinced of the significance and sound ness of Rochdale principles of coopera tion, able to discuss the cooperative movement and the general economic situation intelligently and prepared for courageous action. Within a few months they discovered and added to their num ber others of like mind. These formed a 57 I nucleus for the new organization and from among them the first group of di rectors was elected. 2. Sacrificial leadership. These men and women were interested primarily in forwarding the Cooperative Movement in the community, and were eager to make contributions of time, energy and money. Within the group were two young men, recent college graduates, who asked the privilege of contributing their time without remuneration as co- managers during the initial period of or ganization and building up of sales vol ume. One of the directors during the first six months by devoting evenings to in terviews personally enlisted 47 new mem bers. Another, long interested in prob lems of retail merchandising and of food values gave time without stint to build ing up the inventory. A third invited successive groups of acquaintances and others to her home for informal afternoon teas where consumers' cooperation be came the engrossing topic of conversa tion. Others similarly contributed serv ices in various ways to the store and as committee members. 3. Effective organization. From the beginning members of the Board of Di rectors have taken their responsibility seriously, attended meetings regularly, and willingly accepted committee assign ments. Committees have been authorized and have functioned more or less effec tively on (1) Education; (2) Member ship; (3) Audit, Accounts, and Ratio of Distribution; (4) Records; (5) Equip ment; (6) Milk; (7) Gas and Oil; (8) Inventory and Quality; (9) Medical, Dental and Hospital Care. The principle has been followed of having at least one Director on each committee. In addition to these standing committees, special committees have been appointed as need ed. Every month since organization has seen at least one meeting of the Board of Directors and sometimes three meetings a month have been held. The policy has been followed of bringing all important matters, even details of organization, policy, and administration, to the Board for consideration and democratic deci sion. 4. Sound business policy. The Board of Directors has insisted that sound busi ness policy shall prevail. No speculative chances have been taken. Excepting an unsolicited loan of $200 by one of the 58 members, no money has been borrow A AHminis.r..Hv.> rnsfc Vinvp K»»« _• . .?• Administrative costs have been ri9idlv held within a fixed percentage, arrived ^ by a study of authorities on retail rn^ chandising and of successful experien *" The Board has maintained without H*' viation that all expenses of opérât' *~ shall be met from current operations. °n 5. Social orientation of the communitv While a large number of North Shor residents adhere to the traditional con6 servative attitudes of profit business th" community has a more than average Wr/ portion of men and women who possess social intelligence, insight and concern interested in all socially progressive movements. Northwestern University the Evanston High School, and the Win- netka group of schools each has supplied a considerable quota of members. Seven pastors, a number of men in official de nominational positions, and a score of professional social workers are members 6. Persistent promotion and education. Evanston Consumers' Cooperative is committed to an aggressive educational policy. Membership meetings are held quarterly. Public meetings, also, at some of which addresses by speakers of wide reputation have been made, are held at fairly regular intervals. Cooperative pamphlets have been persistently circu lated. The circulation of Consumers' Co operation, and of Co-op News (the or gan of the Chicago Cooperative Federa tion) has been promoted among mem bers. Attempt has been made to organize discussion groups and neighborhood study circles. For six months the society has had a full-time Promotional Director, giving attention to several phases of pro motional and educational activity, such as interviewing prospective members, ac quainting new members with the objec tive and policies of the society, increasing share capital, following up non-purchas ing members, and promoting attendance at public meetings and membership meet ings. Evident Deficiencies Mistakes have been made which have served to retard the progress of the so ciety, some quite unnecessary and others of a type incidental to the early stages of any new organization. These need not be described, but certain evident present deficiencies should be mentioned. Consumers' Cooperation 1 Low buying average. Members as hole do not patronize the store to the 3 nt necessary to build large sales vol- CX e Included in the membership are ap- uD1 lately sixteen persons who are non- pr° .keepers. Sixty-three other persons, of whom might patronize the store, ousekeepers. Sixty-three, other^persons, ?,° „fficiently interested, for one reason or 'nother do not buy. Subtracting these on,purchasers, sales of groceries, fruits, "nd vegetables for December averaged approximately $14 per family. Included •n this average is one family whose pur chases amounted to $75, and several others ranging from $25 to $50. It is evi dent that almost one-third of the mem bers, other than the non-purchasers, are giving their society only a small propor tion of their patronage. Various explana tions are offered, few of which are satis factory. It is believed that adding a meat market will help to correct this condition. 2. Limited economic advantage. The policy of the society is to sell at the pre vailing retail price, which means the chain store level, No attempt is made to compete with "week-end specials" or various other types of cut-price sales. Honest weights and measures are given. The society refuses to sell less than full cans or under weight products of any kind. Goods of inferior quality and items of known adulteration are banned from the shelves. For socially-minded persons these are satisfying advantages. Even so, to many members a patronage refund of 3 per cent represents a saving too small to be satisfactory. It is expected that with increasing sales volume the margin of saving can be increased. 3. Inadequate quality tests. Some at tempt has been made to take advantage of available facilities for tests of purity and quality, and to arrange for addi tional means of testing, but in both method and extent tests of quality are in adequate. Members will not be satisfied until more satisfactory tests are supplied. 4- Assurance of quality insufficient. Apart from means of testing locally available, assurance of quality is insuff icient. Conviction prevails in the group fc ij "Co"°P" brand on any product should constitute in itself guarantee of Pur|ty and excellence of quality, but ex- Penence to date has not shown this to be «e m all cases. It seems evident that in me Quarters sufficient care is not- being Vil, 1937 exercised in the use of the "Co-op" label. This is a matter of much more than local concern; it affects the prestige and the in tegrity of the Cooperative Movement as a whole. Also, many members desire ac curate information on labor conditions under which merchandise is produced, and on a large proportion of items car ried in stock this is not yet available. Some Unsolved Problems Evanston Consumers' Cooperative is by no means satisfied with its progress. It faces some unsolved problems that are giving its Board of Directors no little concern. 1. Educational program. No fully sa tisfactory solution has been found for the problem of education of members. The community is over-organized, with all or ganizations finding increasing difficulty in securing attendance. A considerable pro portion of members of the cooperative are persons who have joined in response to the solicitation of a friend or as an expression of general social interest, without an understanding of the philos ophy of cooperation and with only a su perficial acquaintance with Consumers' Cooperative principles. Thorough educa tion is needed. The various educational methods thus far tried have been used with very limited success. A circulating library has distributed standard books on cooperation among a few members. The study and discussion-group technique has not proved popular. Lectures by able speakers have been attended by only a minority of the members. Personal con ference for discussion of problems raised by individual members is effective, but is so time consuming that only limited use seems possible. 2. Price policy. What constitutes cur rent market price? No uniformity pre vails among the stores of the community. Some stores are high on some items, low on others. Patrons as a rule are not familiar with the basis of grading, and do not distinguish between grades. Should first, second, and third grades be plainly marked, with corresponding prices at tached? Should prices be held at a mini mum level with resulting margin corres pondingly reduced, or should a relative ly high level be maintained in order to show a large margin and pay a maximum patronage refund? These are a few of 59 many unanswered questions affecting price policy. 3. Satisfactory wage scale. The Board of Directors is committed to the policy of paying employees an adequate living wage. During the third fiscal period sala ries of staff employees of the Grocery Department were advanced, until now more than the prevailing scale for similar service in Evanston groceries is being paid. But salaries are still too low, al though administrative costs computed on a percentage basis are high. How can prices be maintained at the chain store level, a patronage dividend paid, and at the same time an adequate living wage, which represents payment considerably above the prevailing scale, be paid? Clearly this involves problems of admin istration and management difficult of so lution. 4. Cross-section membership. Occupa tional classification of members is re vealing: (1) Educators (teachers, stu dents, ministers, and other professional educators) 164; (2) other professions (social workers, lawyers, physicians, edi tors, etc.) 43; (3) business (insurance, CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVES IN ACTION iciwii juLuiu LUC iuvvti income Qro and almost none from the lowest lP' tempts to extend the membership amo the Negroes, many of whom live \vitn^ walking distance of the store, thus f'" .have been unsuccesful. Union labor h ' not been reached to the extent desired8 As yet E. C. C. is not thoroughly iepre' sentative of the total population. A Satisfying Experience The experience of economic coopéra- tion is an increasingly satisfactory one" A new sense of community is developinq An atmosphere of friendliness and a spirit of fellowship have been created among people who have lived for years as strangers in the same neighborhood. Results thus far attained cause the mem bers to want to cooperate in new areas through extending the scope of opera tions of the Society. The sense of release that results from ethical economic prac tice liberates energy for further activity. North Kansas City, Mo.—A coopera tive grease factory, the first of its kind in the world, began operations here March 10 to make greases for coopera tive associations in the midwestern states. Operating at capacity from the day it opened, the new production plant of Consumers Cooperative Association will serve retail cooperatives affiliated with CCA and three other cooperative whole sales in the U.S. The cooperative factory has a total capacity of 20,000 pounds per day and with equipment said to be "equal in ef ficiency to any in the world" can produce 50 kinds of grease to serve the needs of automobiles, tractors and farm machin ery. Minneapolis—'The third Conoress of the Cooperators' Life Association, a co operative life insurance company organ ized by the Northern States Cooperative League about two and a half years ago, was held here March 23. The reports given to the Congress showed a member- 60 ship of over 1,200, a gain of about 60% since the last Congress, and insurance in force exceeding $1,000,000. Columbus, Ohio—'The Ohio Farm Bu reau Cooperative Association boosted its 1936 business $5,800 a day over its 1935 total. With total sales aggregating $6,- 781,143 the co-op was 45.3 per cent over its record of the previous year. Patronage dividends paid out to member coopera tives totaled $94,492 for the year. Seattle, Washington — Realizing the importance of direct democratic control, the Grange Cooperative Wholesale adopted a plan of reorganization March 1 which provides (1) for the division of the territory served by the cooperative into eight districts, (2) one director for . each district to be chosen by the retail | cooperatives in each district and (3) s ninth director to be chosen by the Wash ington State Grange. The previous ar- i rangement provided for the election ° i all directors by the Grange which hafl nsored the organization of the coop- CtThe business of Grange Cooperative Wholesale was reported to be 21.6 per . n, above the 1935 volume, putting this CCcar's business at well over $1,700,000. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania—With only o years of actual operation behind it, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Coopera- . /^sedation did a half million dollar i!usjiiess in 1936. On a total volume of »511,886 the co-op reported savings of «U 714 and a net worth of $36,000. In order to build up capital the co-op voted to pay the patronage dividends from the wholesale to the retail cooperatives in common stock. Five per cent of the net earnings are set aside for education and 20 per cent for contingent reserves.. New York—The success of the Amal gamated Cooperative Apartments, in which 629 families own their apartments through their cooperative, has inspired 100 mill workers in Ahmedabad, India, to build a cooperative housing center similar to the New York cooperative apartments. The newly organized mill workers cooperative secured the archi tects plan and information of operation from A. E. Kazan, manager of the Amal gamated Cooperatives. Toronto, Canada—'The All-Canadian Congress of Labor, meeting here in March adopted the following resolution endorsing consumers cooperation as an important means of improving the work ers standard of living: "Resolved that the All-Canadian Congress of Labor favors the extension of consumers co operatives, and the adoption of the principles of cooperation as an important means of im proving the workers' standard of living; also that the splendid educational work of the Cooperative Union of Canada and of St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in this connection, be highly com mended." General Secretary, George Keen of the Cooperative Union of Canada addressed the congress on the development of the cooperative movement in Canada. St. Louis—One of the interesting fea tures of the annual conference of the Pro gressive Education Association meeting here February 25-27 was a panel dis cussion of the subject "What has the Co- °Perative Movement to Contribute to Consumers' Coopérât»011 April, 1937 Education?" Among the leaders were: S. Rae Logan, Henry Pratt Fairchild, Father G. A. McDonald, Clay J. Daggett, Mer lin G. Miller, Wm. W. Wattenberg, and William H. Moore. North Kansas City, Mo.—Belgium be came the fourth European country whose cooperatives have purchased oil from Consumers Cooperative Association when a trial order of six drums of Co-op oil was shipped to the Société General Cooperative, Brussels. Previous ship ments have been made to cooperative as sociations in Scotland, France and Es tonia. Washington, D. C.—The Consumers Project, Department of Labor has just published a Model Cooperative State Law. The statute was drawn up by a committee of government officials, legis lative experts and cooperative leaders in cluding Dr. James P. Warbasse, presi dent of The Cooperative League, Howard Cowden, president, Consumers Coopera tive Association and H. V. Nur mi, man ager, Central Cooperative Wholesale. The model law is available to all those interested in introducing legislation covering consumers cooperatives. Copies can be secured from The Cooperative League or the Consumers Project, De partment of Labor, Washington, D. C. Minneapolis — One seems to breathe cooperation in the air in the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A cooperative meeting in those states is more than an ordinary meeting. The discussions cover the broad fields of economics, education, politics, etc. Midland Cooperative Wholesale's Sixth Annual Mid-Winter Conference, divided this year between Minneapolis and Milwaukee, illustrated a broad grasp of all the factors having to do with the building of a cooperative eco nomic society. In addition to general reports relative to the progress of the wholesale in 1936, the subjects of cooperative merchandising and finance were considered in detail in sectional meetings. Reflecting a trend in the cooperative movement as a whole, cooperative education was featured more thoroughly than before. The program of action of The Cooperative League and suggested programs of publicity, educa tion and promotion for the wholesale and retail associations were discussed on 61 the main program and at sectional meet ings. One evening session at the Min neapolis Conference was given over to a panel discussion participated in by a county superintendent of schools, prin cipals of rural township high schools, a representative of the city schools, the chairman being a member of the State Department of Education. In the au dience was the State Commissioner of Education, who commented at length on the panel discussion considering the ques tion of passing a law in Minnesota simi lar to the Wisconsin law providing for the teaching of Cooperation in the schools of the state. General Manager Cort's report of the progress of the Wholesale in 1936 dis cussed the activities of the educational department, the Directors and the per sonnel, which together he stated were responsible for the increased volume of 25% in dollars and cents, and 18% in tank cars. Lines added in 1936 included co-op radios, electric refrigerators, sweepers, washers and irons, steel prod ucts, paint and automobile accessories. Ten new retail cooperative associations were taken into membership during the year and a large branch building at Mil waukee was purchased. Another out standing activity was the organization of Federated Electric Cooperatives for the promotion of rural electrification in the state of Minnesota. The principal subject of discussion at the Conference was the proposed plan under which the various cooperative serv ice organizations which Midland has pro moted in insurance, auditing and educa tion would be more closely coordinated with the parent organization. The plan seemed to meet with the general approval of those present at the Conference, and the discussions are being continued at District meetings. Chicago—'The first annual meeting of National Cooperatives since setting up a Chicago office was held in Chicago Feb ruary 17-18. The newly elected General Manager, Ivan Lanto, presented a list of commodities for the consideration of the members. From these were selected those which could be handled most advantage ously by National Cooperatives in the immediate future. The Directors voted to continue to assess their organizations to provide working funds to cover expenses 62 for 1936 but it is anticipated that the ditional savings made as a result of ting up a national buying office will m ^" than carry operating costs for 1937 °te A dramatic highlight was the electio into membership of the United Farm " Company Limited of Toronto, Ontar." which forged the first commercial tie b°' tween the wholesale cooperatives of th United States and Canada. * e The election of Officers, Directors, and Management Committee resulted in few changes. It was voted to hold Directors' meetings quarterly and definite dates were determined upon. A new Executive Committee consisting of I. H. Hull, How ard A. Cowden and E. G. Cort was set up to handle problems arising between directors' meetings. The committee will meet at least once each month. North Kansas City—The annual meet ing of Consumers Cooperative Associa tion here February 1-2 added new evi dence of cooperative progress. Total sales of $3,756,295.46 were reported, with net savings on wholesale operations of $60,- 347.63. Twenty-five new cooperative re tail associations were added to the mem bership of C. C. A. during the year, mak ing a total of 342 members. Groceries, tractors, radios, lumber and roofing were added to the lines handled in 1936. An unusual feature of the annual meet ing was the arranging of three sectional meetings for Managers, Directors and Educators on the first day. These sec tional meetings proved so popular that the education group asked that more time be allotted to them next year. The most significant discussion at the annual meeting related to the adoption of a five year revolving fund, whereby patronage dividends due member coop eratives would be retained by the whole sale and paid out at the end of a five year period. The discussion was a real exhibition in democracy. The delegates would probably have voted the resolu tion through without lengthy discussion had not President Howard A. Cowden urged delay in putting the question to a vote, which resulted in a wide discussion among the delegates and ended with a unanimously favorable vote. Changes in the by-laws necessary to adopt the revolving plan resulted m a re- examination of the phraseology wtuc has been used, and the substitution ot co- ative for competitive terminology. 2P,er word 'dividends' was ( changed to • funds', 'stock' to 'shares', 'stockholder* ^'shareholder', and 'profits' to 'savings'. A new pamphlet "Your Co-op" was dis- •huted at the meeting and is available jn Q C. A. free of charge. It is a lendid pictorial illustration of the new headqusrters together with the business (fices warehouse and manufacturing de partments, laboratory, employees' coop erative cafeteria and cooperative grocery. Statistical charts are given showing the eiqht year progress in membership, sav- •nqs, shares, surplus and refunds. The "OCA Spirit of 1936," which was plainly evident in the meeting, was expressed by President Cowden in a letter to the Board Members, Managers and Employees, dis tributed at the meeting, in which he said, "I am most happy that I can work in a movement which offers a solution to the pitiful situation of want and hunger in the midst of plenty, and which squares with all Christian and American ideals taught to me by the traditions of our pioneer forefathers. It makes me happy to know that whatever little bit I can contribute is caught up in a great world-wide con sumers cooperative movement and gives strength to it." GOING TO EUROPE? Never in the history of the cooperative move ment has there been such intense interest in study ing European Cooperatives. Never before has there been the selection of special co-op tours available this year. The Fourth Annual "Trip to Cooperative Eu rope," sponsored by The Cooperative League, will sail from New York on the Queen Mary, July 29 to spend seven weeks studying co-ops in Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium and France. Focal point of the tour will be the Triennial Congress of the International Co operative Alliance in Paris, September 6 to 10. Robert Smith, Educational Director of the Eastern Cooperative League, will conduct the tour which is planned particularly for cooperative directors and managers, educational directors, credit union executives and others interested in an intensive study of cooperatives. Sherwood Eddy has redirected his "American Seminar in Europe" so that a major portion of the tour will be devoted to surveying the Cooperative Movement in the Scandinavian countries. Sailing from New York June 19, the party will visit Ger many, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain and return to New York about August 15. Merlin Miller, educational director of Con sumers Cooperative Association, will lead a 69-day Cooperative Study Tour to Europe visiting Eng land, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Czechoslova kia, Austria, Switzerland and France. The tour will be handled by Pocono Study Tours and will sail from New York June 26, returning Septem- Dr. Roy Peel of New York University will head a lour of Cooperative Enterprise in Europe spon sored by the Bureau of University Travel. The tourists will leave New York June 25 and will spend 6 or 8 weeks in England, Scandinavia and Kussia. W. Cross of Springfield College will n a CO~°P tour under the management of Road I I oa wjc wi.n sajj from New York< juy b/P i'nfl Au9ust I7- The countries visited will Fran1 d' Scandinavia- Russia, Germany and Consumers' Cooperation April, 1937 Colin H. Chisholm, Director of the Colorado Cooperative Board of Exchange, will conduct a two-month tour visiting European Cooperatives including two days at the I.C.A. Congress. The trip is scheduled to start from Montreal, Canada, July 24 returning to Quebec September 16. Several other general European tours will in clude sections on cooperatives. Among these is the American Student Union Tour under the direction of Joseph Lash, executive director of the ASU. For those traveling independently, Uppsala Uni versity in Sweden is conducting a special course on Social Science August 7 to 27. The course is under the auspices of the Swedish National Union of Students and places special emphasis on co operatives. Pocono Study Tours is planning a five months' Study of Cooperatives, Folk Schools and Workers Education in Scandinavia. Sailing on .the Britannic August 21 the party will make an extensive study of these institutions in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden with a short visit to the ICA Con- çjress in France, a side trip to Russia and a special Seminar in England before returning to New York January 24, 1938. Information on European cooperative tours can be secured by addressing the Cooperative Tour Committee, The Cooperative League, 167 W. 12th Street, New York City. • SEEING AMERICA FIRST A Social Study Tour of the United States, with major emphasis on consumers' cooperatives, has been announced by Cooperative Distributors. Leaving New York July 3, the party will travel by de luxe motor coach to the West Coast and1 return, visiting Cooperatives, the TVA, Llano Co operative Colony, Boulder Dam, scenic points, universities and cultural centers en route. The tour will take two months and will be under the direc tion of Mr. and Mrs. Leon V. Kofod. Rev. Kofod- spent several months studying Scandinavian co operatives two years ago and is a well known lecturer. More complete information can be ob- ained bv writing Cooperative Distributors, 30' Irving Place, New York City. 63 THE PRESS BOOSTS CONSUMERS' COOPERATION MAGAZINES Advance, February, "The Magic of Cooperation," Matthew A. Vance. March, "Do Cooperatives Offer a Social Pana cea," Matthew A. Vance. Advertising Age, March 15, "Credit Parity is Sought for Cooperatives." March 22, "Chains Testing Efficiency of Coop eratives." "Dr. Evans says Cooperatives Must Advertise." Atlantic Monthly, March, "Consumers Coopera tion," Charles Jackson. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Engine- men's Magazine, March, "Are Price Tags Enough?" Business Digest, February 3, Summary of article on Cooperatives from National Petroleum News. Business Week, March 21, "Co-op Report at Last." March 27, "Co-ops Go International." Commonweal, February 26, "In Halfway Cove," Kenneth Leslie. Consumers Guide, February 22, "Five Days with Ohio's Consumers." Credit and Financial Management, December, 1936, "Consumer Co-ops." Education Digest, March, Summary of "Student Venture in Cooperative Living," Arthur E. Albrecht. Educational Business Manager and Buyer, Janua ry, "On the March with Educational Coopera tives," Henry B. Abbett. Forum, April, "Do We Need a Cooperative—A Debate," Robert Whitcomb and C. O. Sherrill. Illinois Agriculture Association Record, February, "Consumer Cooperatives and the Farmer," Clif ford Gregory. Journal of Home Economics, March, "An Experi mental Course in Methods of Consumer Educa tion," R. S. Hadsell. Manaaement Review, March, Summary of Henry A. Heimann's article on "Consumer Co-ops" in Credit and Financial Management. New Outlook, February 19-26, Series of Articles on Sweden. Febuary 26, "Cooperatives in Sweden." Pioneer Woman, December, 1936, "Consumers Cooperation in America," A. F. Whitney. Printers Ink, March 18, "The Cooperative Scare," Charles F. Phillips. Queen's Work, April, "Cooperatives Nurse Grow ing Pains," Gil Gallon. Science Digest, February, "Consumers Coopera tives—A Challenge to Business," condensed from The Cooperative Engineer. Social Justice, March 22, "Consumer Groups Unite Buying Power," (series of four articles). Survey Graphic, March, "Measuring the Coopera tives," Clark Kerr. Tide, April, "Co-op Inquiry." Time, March 22, "Co-op Report." Voluntary and Cooperative Groupa Magazine, March, "I am Definitely Opposed to Coopera tives," J. Frank Grimes. "I am Definitely for Consumer Cooperatives," Herbert E. Evans. 64 NEWSPAPERS Christian Science Monitor, March 12, "Stud of Cooperatives In Europe Tell President r^*8 Field Exists in U. S." W l^ New York Daily News, February 21, iq-w "Sweden, the Middle Way," an editorial New York Herald Tribune, March 27, "Cost nf Baker Committee's Trip Scanned." ^ New York Poqt, March 20, "The Cooperative ' Solving the H. C. of L." Maureen MrTCo«,__IS New York Times, March 7, "Cooperatives R j on 159 Campuses," Lois Baker. and March 14, ^"Head of Co-op Group Favors B reau Plan." u' NEW COOPERATIVE LITERATURE Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Coopera tive Enterprise in Europe, The complete repot of the President's Commission is available in printed form free of charge. Since the number of copies is limited, those who want copies should write immediately to the Co-op Commission Works Progress Administration, Washington' D. C. English Cooperatives, Sidney R. Elliot, Yale Uni versity Press. $2.50. This companion volume to "Sweden, the Middle Way," written by the Editor of Reynolds News, is scheduled for pub lication in May. The Annals of the Academy of Political and So- cial Science will devote its entire May issue to articles on the Consumers Cooperative Move ment. Among its contributors will be James P. Warbasse, Roy Peel, Horace M. Kallen, I. H. Hull, H. A. Cowden, Murray D. Lincoln, Ivan Lanto, Bertram B. Fowler, James Myers, Mark Dawber, E. R. Bowen, E. St. Elmo Lewis, A. E. •Kazan, Roy Bergengren and many others. Cooperative Enterprise, Jacob Baker, Vanguard Press, $2.00. A volume summarizing Coopera tive Enterprise in Europe and America, written by Jacob Baker, member of the Commission of Inquiry on Cooperative Enterprise in Europe. Scheduled for publication May 1st. Questions Facing Consumers, a guide for discus sion, by Benson Y. Landis. Published by tie Eastern Cooperative League, lOc per copy. Cooperatives—Promise or Illusion, Maxwell Stewart, Public Affairs Committee, lOc. One oj the series of Public Affairs Pamphlets devoted to discussions of social and economic problems. Cooperatives, Ryllis Alexander Goslin, Foreign Policy Association, 25c. The Headline Books, •published by the Foreign Policy Association are fast becoming an American Institution. A_ stufly outline to be used with the book is available 1« 15c per copy. Cooperation: The Dominant Economic Idea of * Future, Henry A. Wallace, lOc. The last tw« ty pages of "Whose Constitution" are |9eD~l classic in cooperative literature. The seae of Agriculture has kindly consented to tne Consumers' Coopératif» hlicaüon of this stirring challenge. Repro- à to convenient pamphlet form it should °°K a profound effect upon the thinking of ruta' America. Rrave Years, A Cooperative Novel, William THvHg«. Appleton-Century, $2.00. William Hvliger', well known author of boys' stories, ft turned his attention to adult novels in "Dark Conquest." His second is a cooperative VP) "The Brave Years," now running serially n° several magazines and scheduled for publica tion May H. Order from THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th Street New York City New Cooperative Poster The Principles of Consumers' Cooperation rsely stated in white letters on a blue back ground. Size 19J^"x28" on substantial paper stock. Five for $1.00 postpaid. Prices for larger quantities on re quest. Gummed Miniatures $1.00 per thousand COOPERATIVE DESIGN SERVICE 167 West 12th Street, New York City FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFELECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY East 84th St. New York, N. Y. er of The Cooperative League of the A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. • READ THESE COOPERATIVE BOOKS Consumer Cooperation in America—Democ- racy's Way Out, Bertram B. Fowler, (1936), Special Edition .................... $1.00 Factual current story of Consumers' Co operatives and Credit Unions written from personal contacts. Cooperative Movement in Great Britain, Beatrice Potter (1891) ............ $1.10 First clear analysis of consumers' coopera tive ownership compared with producers' ownership. Still standard. Cooperative Democracy (Special Edition) James P. Warbasse ( 1936) ......... $1.50 Comprehensive discussion of theories, prin ciples and practice of Consumers' Coopera tion written from years of first hand study in many countries. The National Being, George W. Russell (AE) ............................ $1.75 Beautifully phrased combination of coop erative idealism and practical action by the great poet-cooperator. Sweden: The Middle Way, Marquis W. Childs (1936) ........................... $2.50 Sweden's Consumers' Cooperatives, Public Utilities, Labor Unions, Farm Coopera tives, Political and Educational Organiza tions which have made Sweden a land of economic and political democracy. The Decline and Rise of the Consumer, Horace M. Kallen (1936) .......... $2.75 The philosophy of Consumers' Coopera tion. Author describes Cooperation as the economic embodiment of the "American Dream." Cooperation, Hall and Watkins (1934).. $3.00 New textbook published by the Coopera tive Union. A superior book for personal and school study of the Consumers' Co operative Movement. These are important tools to help you build a cooperative economic democracy. Order from THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th St. New York City STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION "Education Is The Keystone Of Cooperation" EDUCATIONAL PAMPHLETS Per Copy Per 100 76. What is Consumers' Cooperation J. P. Warbasse _______.__..__ .05 4.00 69. Story of Toad Lane, Stuart Ohaee __________________ .05 4.00 84. The Coop. Movement, J. H. Dietrich _________________ .05 4.00 95. A Trip to Cooperative Europe, H. A. Cowden ____________ .05 4.00 96. A Cooperative Economic De mocracy, E. R. Bowen _ __ .05 4.00 110. Campus Co-ops., William H Moore __. .____________ .05 4.00 85. Cooperation Here w* Abroad, H. J. Hughes ___ ________ .10 8.00 90. Up From The Shadows, • Michel Becker—Translated by Arthur Albrecht _________________ .10 8.00 94. 99. 87. The Discovery of the Consumer, Béatrice Potter Webb _______ .10 _ Kagawa and Cooperatives ____ .10 1&5. Guide for Discussion Circles, C. R. Hutohinson __________ .10 111. Questions Facing Consumers, cHs„ cussdon guide, Benson Y. Landais .10 362. A Brief History of Thu Coopera tive League, J. P. Warbasse __ 371. Cooperation—The Dominant Eoo- r.omic Idea of the Future, Henry A. Wallace _________ .10 A Short Introduction to Con-, sumers' Cooperation, Ellis Cowling _________________ .16 361. Cooperative Medicine. J. P. Warbasse, M. D. ._________ .15 103. The Negro Seeks Economic Free dom Through Cooperation, J. L. Reddix _________________ .15 860. Sweden—Land of Economic De mocracy, E. R. Bowen __ __ .15 106. Facing the Sunrise, Ellis Cowl ing —_—_———————————_______ 107. Can We Establish a Consumer Eiconomy? C. R. Crews _——_ .15 108. Cooperation—a Philosophical In terpretation, David E. Sonquiet, .15 113. Spirit, of Cooperation, Harold Laski __________——————— 355. How St. F. X. University Edu cates For Action _—___——— 98. Fundamentals of Consumers' Cooperation, V. S. Alanne ___— .25 100. Seeking a N«w World Through Cooperatives, Carl R. Hutchm-son .25 22.00 112. Cooperatives, R. A. Goslin, Headline Books series . __. 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 .10 8.00 8.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 Ii2.00 .15 12.00 12.00 12.00 .16 12.00 .20 16.00 22.00 .25 20.00 ORGANIZATIONAL PAMPHLETS __ .16 .10 59S. Organization and management of consumers' cooperative as sociations and clube, with model by-laws (postpaid) ____________ 606. Organization and management of co-op gasoline and oil associa- tions.wlth model by-laws (post paid) _________________________ 608. Organization and management of cooperative housing associa. tlons, with model lease and by laws (postpaid) _________ .10 GENERAL BOOKS Brandeis, Louis D. : Other People's Money .15 Brookings Institution: America's Capacity to Consume ____________________ 3.00 Chase and Schlink: Tour Honey's Worth _ 1.00 Davies. Noëlle: Education for Life __ __ 2.00 Henderson, Fred: Economic Consequences of Power Production ______________ 2.00 Kagawa, Toyohiko: Brotherhood Economics English cloth ______ _^ _______ l.BO Loeb, Harold: The Chart of Plenty _____ 2.60 Wallace, Henry: Whose Constitution?__ 1.75 Order MONTHLY MAGAZINES Consumers' Cooperation—(In bundle lots per hundred). Substeription, per year «™ .-^ $1.25) ______________________^orogn. Review of International Cooperation — the I. C. A.) ____________ Per ' COOPERATIVE BOOKS The following books are recommended as taiiiing the best discussion of the modern o™1" Burners' Cooperative Movement. They ma n" ordered through The League, postpaid on ™ • of price. '«eipt Charles Gide and Cooperation. Edited hv Karl Walter _______________ _*_ 25 Chiids, Marquis: Sweden—The Middle Way »• Fowler. Bertram B.: Consumer Coopéra tion in America (Cooperative Edition)_.'j», Golflmark & Hollman: Democracy in Denmark (1936) ______________ 2 Hall and Watkins: Cooperation. Official British Textbook (1935) ________ 3M Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers (1892) ____ 1^. Howe, Frederic C. : Denmark—the Co operative Way, (1936) _.___________ 250 Jenkins. Burris: Fresh Furrow, A Coopera tive Novel (Special Edition) ______ JQJ Johnson, Julia E. : Consumers' Cooperatives, debate handbook ——_——________' gj Kallen, Horace: The Decline and Rise of the Consumer _——_——————______ 2.75 M»rcer, T. W.: Towards the Cooperative Comimoinwea.lth __ 3.50 Odhe. Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators, Paper ———————________ IM Paul, Les'ie: Storv without End _____ .50 Poisson, E.: The Cooperative Republic_ 1.85 Potter. B.- föderative Movement in Great Britain (1891) __________________ 1.1» Randpll ft Daggett: Consumers Co-op. Adventures —_——_——————__——. __ 2.M Redfern. Percy: John T. W. Mitchell. (1924) 1.M Russell. George (A. E.) The National Being L7B Sinclair, TJpton: "Co-op." A novel of self-help Cooperatives __ __ ____ 2.50 Swedish Cooperative Architecture (beauti fully illustrated^ ________________ 2.BO Totomianz. V.: The Place of Cooperation among other movements ————__———— X Warbasse. J. P.: Cooperative Democracy (1936) (Special Cooperative Edition) __ 1.50 Warbasse, J. P.: The Doctor and The Public (19!3E) cooperative heaJth protec tion _ .______ __ _. .__ __.- S.M Webb, Beatrice: My Apprenticeship. (1926) !.M Consumers' Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 1920 to 18S6 Jniclusiv«, each year.—— — S-JJ The Cooperative League Tear Book (1930 L™ The People's Yeair Book (1937) English cloth LW> Paper .66. MISCELLANEOUS SI. "The Spider Web", A S act play .26 57. How a Consumers* Cooperative „ Differs from Ordinary Business .01 •» 61 Songs for Cooperaitors, C. W. Klnnear - ______ ____— •"* 62. Buttons (League emblem), % inch diameter ______-_——— •'5 63. Decaloomania of the League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 in. M /liamotfir ______ .25 16'[J ———— .02 '"" S.M 2.W diameter 74. The Burden of Credit ___——— 75. What is a Cooperative Store —— •"' 82. What Cooperation means to a depression-sick America ————— •" 93. The Sure Way is the Quick Way .02 342. Leairn All About Consumers' Cooperation ________—.—— •IM from: 1.00 THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th Street, New York City CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE • PLENTY • DEMOCRACY Volume XXIII. No. 5 MAY 1937 Ten Cents EDITORIALS Preparatory to reading the "Digest of the Report of the Inquiry on Coopera tive Enterprise in Europe" in the follow ing pages, it might be well to compare briefly a few current illustrations of the working out of various major economic problems in our own country and in Eu rope. The Problem of Utilities. Through the device of a holding company the control of the Van Sweringen Railroad Empire, in which stockholders have invested $3,000,000,000 and to which the govern ment has loaned $100,000,000 was trans ferred to a fruit jar manufacturer for $3,000,000 and again transferred to three young men who know equally as little about railroads for $6,375,000. In com parison, the same newspapers announce that France is following the lead of other European countries in moving towards public ownership of railroads. The Problem of Industries. The At torney General of the United States has recently instituted a suit against the Aluminum Company of America charging violation of the anti-trust laws. European democratic countries, instead, do not de pend upon anti-trust laws, but set up con sumers' cooperative price yardsticks and "bust the trusts" by forcing them to com pete with products produced and dis tributed at cost. The Problem of Natural Resources. Congress has just passed the Guffey- Vinson Bill legalizing price fixing in coal. Great Britain, on the other hand, is mov ing towards public ownershio of natural resources by proceeding to take over the royalties on coal lands. The Problem of Distribution. The State of New York 'has given up its at tempt to fix prices of milk but now the legislature is considering a bill providing for the fixing of prices by producers and distributors. European democratic coun tries offer patterns for the only real solu tion of the milk question by agreements between producers marketing coopera tives and consumers distributing cooper atives. America surely has reason to consider the solutions of our major economic prob lems as they are being worked out by the older democratic countries of Europe. Aa organ to spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people. In voluntary association, purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th Street, New Tork City. E. R. Bowen, Editor. Wallace J. Campbell. Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative _^"rnals and Educational Directors of Cooperative Wholesales ana District Leagues. "'ered a« Second Class Matter, December 19,191T, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., under the Act of March S, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Raivaaja Print ,2 Fitchburg, Mass. DIGEST OF REPORT OF INQUIRY ON COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE IN EUROPE INASMUCH as there may not be pub lished a sufficient number of copies of the complete Report of the Inquiry on Cooperative Enterprise in Europe for all those who might desire a copy, and furthermore since the Report is volumi nous, it is not likely that any large num ber will read it in its entirety. We have therefore digested out of the Report and present herewith some of the outstanding conclusions reached by the six members of the Inquiry as a whole and the sepa rate individual observations of each of the six members. The first part of the fol lowing digest covers the Report signed by all six members of the Commission. Following that are extracts from the statements presenting the individual views of each member. As is generally known, the Inquiry on' Cooperative Enterprise in Europe was authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed as the mem bers of the Inquiry Jacob Baker, Leland Olds, Charles Stuart, Robin Hood, Clif ford V. Gregory and Emily C. Bates. The members of the Inquiry visited Eng land, Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzer land, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, all of which coun tries are political democracies, and in vestigated first hand the cooperative activities in building an economic democ racy in those countries. While they gave attention to industrial producers' cooper atives and farm marketing cooperatives, the Report deals mainly with consumers' cooperatives. The members of the commission found in Europe, they report, "a movement that has its full share of human errors but that has brought new hope, new pride of own ership, higher standards of living to a substantial portion of the people of west ern Europe." Definition of a Cooperative The simple definition of a cooperative arrived at by the members of the Inquiry emphasizes the three significant objec tives of Consumers Cooperation, (1) widespread ownership of property by the 66 people (2) equal democratic control h the members (3) purchases at co^ through patronage dividends. The défiSt tion reads, "A cooperative enterprise0' one which belongs to the people who use its services, the control of which rest equally with all the members, and th gains of which are distributed to the members in proportion to the use they make of its services." "Two things make the policy of coon eratives different from that of private business ... In a cooperative each mem- ber has a vote and only one, no matter how much stock he may own ... In a co operative the 'profits' (after paying a small fixed interest to the shareholders and setting aside reserves) are distrib uted to the members in proportion to their patronage." Controls Monopolies Swedish cooperators are quoted as saying, "Monopoly can be controlled much more effectively by cooperative competition than by anti-trust laws." Consumers' cooperatives in Sweden, in other words, aim to be a "price yard stick." Sweden has never adopted an an ti-trust law. As an illustration of the ef fectiveness of cooperatives in checkmat ing monopoly prices, the reduction of the price of galoshes fixed by the monopoly at $2.27 to a price of 93c for galoshes produced by the cooperatives is cited, with the additional statement that "the result of this cut in price was the virtual doubling of the use of galoshes in Swed en." Security of Investment "During the depression cooperative shares were almost the only securities in Great Britain which did not depreciate in value." The Report states that "losses ot savings deposited with cooperatives are almost unknown." Low Cost of Capital There is a tendency in cooperatives to build up "what the Swiss ^call social capital', bearing no interest." "83 1/J' f the total value of active cooperative estment in Great Britain" is "com- inV j Of debt-free plant and interest-free serves." As compared with "£20,000,- nf)0 of share and loan capital which is in tive cooperative investment" the Brit- 3L cooperatives have "an unencumbered lant valued at £40,000,000 and interest- fee reserve capital amounting to £60,- 000,000." price Policies "Market prices are in general main tained, not only in order to guard against losses but also in order that the member may get a Iar9er patronage refund than would be possible with lower prices. The present tendency, however, is towards lower prices and smaller patronage re funds. Cooperatives often sell below the market when they believe the market price is artificially fixed, or margins too wide." Low Operating Costs Reasons for low operating costs in a cooperative are given as much less sala ries to high executives, considerably greater volume of goods sold per em ployee, low cost of capital, smaller ad vertising expenditures, selling for cash resulting in negligible credit losses. High Manufacturing Efficiency Gearing production to a definitely known consumer demand "enables coop erative enterprise to level out the peaks and valleys of required capital invest ment, plant extension and employment." As an illustration, the cooperative flour mill in Denmark, is reported as "operat- ting twenty-four hours a day throughout the year except Sunday, while the private mills are averaging only a little more than half-time." Better Quality Products Cooperators are reported as believing that "neither the poorest nor the most ex pensive goods give consumers the great est value, but durable, standard articles m me middle price range." Cooperators öy that since they are selling to them es, they "have no incentive to mis- fepresentjhe quality of their goods." In jnland "everything bought is tested. Ab, '°ut 25% of all goods examined are re- Consumers' Cooperation May, 1937 jected because of inferior quality," so the Managing Director of S.O.K. declared. Open Accounting The accounting and reporting methods used by cooperatives are described as "always complete and intelligible." Prac tically every cooperative society in Eu rope prints a complete annual report, so that each member may have one. "Ex planation and study of auditors' reports is a part of the educational program of most societies." Cooperative Employment "Consumers' cooperatives as a rule pay higher than going wages to labor, re quire shorter hours, and are more liberal with vacations and sick leaves. Coopera tive stores in general pay workers 10- 15% more than the going rate, and pen sion their old workers. Most cooperatives employ chiefly union workers, have col lective agreements and arbitration boards which handle the few labor disputes that arise. In general there is a close relation ship between organized labor and con sumers' cooperatives." Education Emphasized Educational projects are organized to reach the general public, members, youth and employees. "The cooperative move ment attaches such great importance to its educational and propaganda work" because "to live, a cooperative must have a loyal membership with a broad under standing of its purposes and methods," and "to grow, it must 'sell' the coopera tive idea to prospective members." Few Governmental Privileges "Cooperatives have not received many special privileges from government. Some access to government credit, some ex emption from taxes on plowed back sur pluses, some subsidy to cooperative edu cation—that is about all." Cooperative Accomplishments The chief consumers' cooperative ac complishments in Europe are stated to be reduction in costs of retailing, promotion of thrift, education of members, better, citizenship by widely diffused ownership, effective control of monopoly and com paratively high labor standards. 67 Cooperative Problems "Among the important problems not yet fully solved" are increasing the co operative percentage of member expendi tures, increasing the buying of local so cieties from cooperative wholesales, bet ter democratic control in large societies, improving relations with farmers, meet ing chain store competition, maintaining trade union standards, wise investment of surplus funds, adopting the good prac tices of private business without the bad." Individual Views of Members of the Inquiry Mr. Jacob Baker, Chairman, says, "There is no reason to believe that co operative enterprise will not expand to considerable proportions in the United States in the next generation." As re gards the relationship between agricul tural producers and consumers, he com ments, "It is to the advantage of both the agricultural producer and the urban or rural consumer to reduce the spread be tween producers' receipts and consumers* payments, so that the producer may get more and the consumer pay less. The only way that either producers or con sumers can positively control this is by the organization of their own cooperative enterprise." Declaring that "organized economic enterprise may be divided into •three major sectors—'private enterprise, government enterprise, and cooperative enterprise," he adds, "All that we know is that private business can do some things well, that government can do others very well, and that cooperation al so performs certain functions well." Again he describes "organized economic enterprise as a triangular structure, the three points of the triangle are private, governmental, and cooperative organiza tion." In concluding, he emphasizes that the "social effects of cooperatives are some times of even greater importance than the immediate economic results. In the judg ment of a great many people in Europe— both cooperators and others—'it is these social elements of cooperative enterprise that give it its greatest significance and a continuing appeal to each new genera tion." • In Mr. Leland Olds' judgment, "Co operation is a way of life which offers 68 new procedure for the satisfaction only of material but also of spiritual d _ * — _ _ rt * I ' _ J.1_ .-. 4- n.« i-I * *•!•« n. -, _ _ ^*t« sires." To that end, "the cooperat;v movement would extend the coopérât;/ system of living which was characterisf6 of the older family life to the control 0[ > the commercial market by groups Of families." An outstanding Swedish economist ' quoted as saying, "A strong labor movp8 ment pressing for higher wages while th" consumer cooperatives held down prices^ has meant a rapid rise in real wages." ' As regards the relationship of farmers to consumer cooperatives, Mr. Olds finds that "from the standpoint of the farmer the weight of evidence is conclusive that it is more advantageous to deal with con sumer cooperatives than with private traders." While consumer cooperatives have problems of relations with labor and farmers, "by and large, cooperative en terprise is preferred whether as a pur chaser of labor or of farm products^" He interprets cooperative enterprise "as a true flowering of the American idea," and describes it in one case as "cooperative individualism" and in an other as "cooperative private business." "Cooperative enterprise," he suggests, "might well prove to be the next step in the natural evolution of the true pattern of American life." His final conclusion is that "Coopera tive enterprise is worthy of serious con- . sideration by all seekinq to perpetuate the American idea which is today .gravely threatened by powerful forces in a rapid ly changing world." • The benefits of consumer cooperation in Europe are summed up by Charles E. Stuart as the sharing by members of "profits" of the enterprise through pat ronage refunds, the reduction of prices of private stores through the establishment of consumer cooperatives, the training of the members in a sound family economy by cash buying and discriminative pur chasing, the improvement of living stand ards, the increasing of merchandising efficiency, the lessening of the necessity of government interference with business. Mr. Stuart emphasizes the fact that "eco nomic cooperation is largely a state or , mind," and that it is slow in growth be cause "Cooperators must be educated as to the ideals of the movement so that they have an enduring enthusiasm for it a ind Consumers' Cooperation ** 1937 willing to make personal sacrifices 3f£ M for it- . "Unlike their 'small scale' status in the II ited States, consumer cooperatives have become 'big business' in Europe," bserves Robin Hood. "In nearly every Furopean country studied they have de a substantial contribution to the m nornic welfare of the members. Im- Eartial surveys have shown that they are Applying consumer goods, particularly f odstuffs, to their members at real sav- •nas In Czechoslovakia, for illustration, survey by the government statistical board showed the prices of cooperatives averaged 5% less than their private com petitors; and this saving was augmented by patronage refunds averaging 2%." After describing "the chief factors ac counting for the remarkable development of consumer cooperation in Europe" as being inefficient retail distribution, class loyalty, deeply ingrained thrift and strongly financed central cooperative wholesales, which "factors are absent or relatively absent in the United States to day," Mr. Hood concludes, "It therefore appears that present American conditions are not particularly conducive to the rapid and widespread development of consumer cooperation." However, he de clares that "Any group of people who be lieve they can purchase their require ments more advantageously through co operatives than through private enter prises should be fairly accorded their rightful opportunity to make the effort." Among the definite accomplishments to the credit of consumer cooperatives, Mr. Clifford V. Gregory names the following in the order of their importance to his mind: The complete elimination of "financial racketeering in that part of the business world which they have taken over," the addition to "national stability by edu cating their members on economic ques tions and by creating a sense of owner ship in a large class of people, most of whom previously owned little but their Personal possessions, the raising of standards of living by competing effec- jvely With monopolies, and by increasing !!je efficiency of retailing and the giving o many Of its members a new interest « life." A«er meeting many cooperative lead- Mav ers, he concludes that "the competent leadership of the cooperative movement in Europe goes a long way to disprove the theory that self-interest is the only motive that will cause people to work and strive." Mr. Gregory believes that "the oppo sition to consumer cooperatives which has developed in a few quarters in Amer ica would seem to be unwarranted. American business and the consumer co operative movement both believe (at least in theory) in free and open competition." As to what consumer cooperation may do, he says, "There would seem to be a few definite contributions that consumer cooperation might make to the economic life of America," four of which he lists as "accumulation of interest-free capital," "encouragement of thrift among classes which ordinarily save little or nothing," "establishment of an influence for fair prices for consumers," and "giving to many people in whom sense of owner ship is absent the stability that comes from being part owner of a business en terprise." He warns consumer cooperatives in America to avoid the following dangers: not to fail to "serve consumers with sin gleness of purpose," to "keep out of politics;" to "avoid the lure of a coopera tive monopoly"; to "be guided by the Swedish policy of using cooperation as a means of keeping prices down to a fair level"; and to "avoid the class protagon- ism that exists in some quarters in Eu rope." • Miss Emily C. Bates devoted her com ments to the place she believes "the co operative movement if developed in America may take in enriching the lives of our people," rather than the economic phases of cooperative organization. She says, "Cooperative enterprise of fers women as the world's buyers and household business managers a way to supply their families' needs efficiently. The broad cultural and educational ef fects of cooperation concern them deeply as wives and mothers. It is their interest or lack of it that can make or break the cooperative movement. If the women in America want it enough, cooperative en terprise will grow in this country." She quotes the president of the 1935 British Cooperative Congress as saying, "The end of cooperation is the freeing of men 69 and women from economic and social thraldom. By so doing, we shall bring them to that state where intellect and spiritual freedom, and a fuller and nobler life are made possible." This result, she declares, is not only an ideal but is being achieved; "the contact of the Inquiry with cooperative employ ees, members and executives offered im pressive proof that the lives of indi viduals are enriched by association with others in cooperatives." In conclusion she says, "Making use of our abundant resources, we seek to build a nation of people economically secure and at peace with the world. To this end, widespread development of coopérât1 enterprise by the people offers vast n 6 abilities." P°s- The recommendations, transmitted sen arately to the President by the Inquir are as follows: ' 1. That there be made a survey Of consumer and service cooperatives in th United States. e 2. Than an agency be established or designated to give information, research and advisory service to consumers coon eratives. 3. That steps be taken to assure con sumer cooperatives credit parity. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION OF COOPERATIVE EMPLOYEES WHEN the employees of a con sumers' cooperative society are called out on a strike, it is expensive for both workers and members of the coop erative. This may be despite the fact that the cooperative gives better pay and bet ter working conditions to the employees than prevail in similar competitive busi nesses. European cooperation has gone through this experience and learned its lessons. With the exception of one coun try, strikes in cooperatives are rarely threatened. It would be well if we might learn the lesson with as little experience as possible. Back of strikes among the workers in cooperative societies lies defective under standing of cooperation. In the member ship of the cooperative movement is a considerable element which does not comprehend the relation of cooperation to labor. The fatuous idea widely prevails that all employers are the enemies of the workers and that the trade union is ex clusively the organization for the protec tion of the working class. This idea is responsible for the general misconcep tion. Cooperators are in favor of trade union organization; but cooperators know that the organization of workers as con sumers also is essential for their protec tion. Workers as consumers are organ ized in the consumers' cooperative move ment more thoroughly and more widely than in the trade union movement. Co operation is the larger. It is more far- 70 J. P. Warbasse reaching and the more important of the two. Agreement with this simple state ment may be used as the test to determine whether an individual is a cooperator or something else. Cooperation and Profit Business Workers employed in cooperative so cieties should be organized. In the United States most of the cooperative employees who are organized are in the general trade unions which have been set up to protect workers from capitalist employ ers. The cooperative employer is of a dif ferent sort. The capitalist employer is carrying on business for the purpose of getting for himself or his concern the difference between the cost and the sell ing price. For this reason labor is bought at as low a price as possible, the same as commodities. The trade union is neces sary for the worker in his relation with the capitalist employer. But his relation to the cooperative employer is entirely different. In the cooperative, the worker may be a member of the society which employs him. If he wants, by becoming a member, he may have a vote in determining his waqes and conditions of labor. And no body can have any more voice than he. Labor, in capitalistic business, by striking may destroy the business by which it is employed. But when labor destroys a co operative business, it destroys an institu tion that is a factor in the world rnove- ment toward the emancipation of economic subjection. Cooperation is U° natural ally of labor. The coopera- s are literally the property of the "Vrking peoples, in so far as most mem- îfers are workers. We must not be unmindful of the fact ' L t these are idealistic conceptions of this relationship. As a practical matter, • the cooperative society, the workers as m class are in a minority; and although 3ach as an individual may have one vote, as a class they are subject to the majority Ote of the consumer members. The con sumers control. If the employees were to control, the result would not be coopera tion but a disrupted organization or syn dicalism. The Purpose of a Cooperative Let us face some more facts. A coop erative society is organized by consumers for the purpose of supplying themselves with goods and services to a better ad vantage than can be enjoyed by other methods of supply. One of the chief ad vantages is that the consumers thus get things at a lower cost. The purpose of a cooperative society is very definite. It is not a philanthropy. It is not a labor or ganization. It is a consumers' supply so ciety, and if it does not reduce costs or improve quality it will not long survive. We are discussing the problem from the cooperative standpoint. Whenever the interest of the employees comes in 1 conflict with that of the consumer em ployers, the interest of the latter must take precedence. This is because the co operative is not a trade union; it is set up for the consumers. The trade union has its place, but it is entirly apart from con sumers' cooperation, just as are the work- 4 ingman's politics and his religion. Workers may look to their trade un ions to protect and improve their wages. They set up the cooperative society for a different purpose, and this purpose should not be confused with other purposes. Un ions outside of the cooperatives should be brought up close to cooperative stand ards; and the cooperatives should volun tarily keep ahead of the outside labor conditions. In the meetings of a coopera tive society the members, including em- P'oyees, should be there as consumers. If ? maJority are not, the cooperative will e destroyed. It has been observed at that employee members have vio- Consumers' Cooperation May, 1937 lated this cooperative principle and have represented themselves in the coopera tive society's meetings as workers rather than as consumers. This does damage to the society. The exception is when the workers bring up a specific question con cerning themselves as workers. The conception of labor in the cooper ative movement should be kept distinct and apart from that of labor in capitalistic business, just as cooperative business it self is distinct and apart. Unless this is done, the workers in the cooperative can be called out on strike when a grievance exists against a capitalistic business and when the workers in the cooperative have no complaint against their employ ers. This has happened to the great harm of cooperation and the workers. It oc curred in the general strike in Great Britain in 1926 where the cooperative employees walked out first because they were better organized. In American cities especially, cooperation is in a constant state of danger whenever its workers are thus subject to outside control. Under these conditions it is possible for a capi talistic competitor of the cooperative to have the employees of the cooperative called out on strike when they have no grievance. The Need for a Labor Policy The time has come when the Coopera tive Movement must have a labor policy of its own. It cannot safely submit to the policy of a labor movement subject to the hostile relationships existing between la bor and the capitalist employer. It is an important fact that new people, coming into the American cooperative movement, find a movement without an enforced definite labor policy. They get their labor policy from outside the move ment. And this is a labor policy which is not adapted to cooperation. When a minority of the employees of a coopera tive as a result of intensive trade union pressure vote to join a union, and when influential members of the cooperative insist that pressure should be put upon all the other employees to join the union even though they express an unwilling ness to join, it is evident that we need to examine our own internal conditions. When a situation arises in which cooper ative employees discuss the question of organizing as workers, and when coop erative officials advise them that they 71 should consult with trade unions outside of the cooperative movement and be guided by their desires, we should realize that the cooperative movement is in need of cooperators. Cooperators put coopera tion before trade unionism. Cooperators never willfully place cooperation in a po sition subject to any other movement, either labor, political, or religious. The co operative movement is based upon en tirely different principles. It is not a class organization. It aims to represent all consumers — they are everybody, including workers. Workers in the co operative, with a grievance, have redress within their own organization. They may take their problem, first, to the manage ment. If satisfaction is not had, they may next go to the directors. Then they may bring their problem to a members' meet ing, if they so desire. Here, with each worker a member and a voter also, is the unique character of the cooperative. At the members' meeting the workers have a right to be heard, and they should ex pect a sympathetic hearing. Outside of the cooperative movement there is no such machinery for the employees. The right to strike cannot be denied workers in any business. But in the co operative movement everything should be done to prevent this disaster. A strike is unthinkable in a cooperative hospital; and every other cooperative should be equally protected from such a calamity. Agreements between employer and em ployee should provide conditions against the strike. One of the first of these should be that the cooperative provide a wage which is at least ten per cent above the current wage in competing business, be it union or not. This should go a long way toward solving the wage problem. Machinery of Labor Relations The time has come when it is impera tive for The Cooperative League to en courage employees of its societies to or ganize themselves into a Union of Co operative Employees. Unless this is done, the outside unions will organize the co operative employees. The cooperative union should be an industrial union limited to cooperative employees. All em ployees, unskilled, skilled, managerial, and executive, should be eligible. Each society should be organized, also the central office of each federation, district j league, and wholesale. The national un-» 72 ion should represent a federation of en, ployees, just as The League represents a federation of consumers, and should be set up on lines parallel with those of The League. The national organization of co operative employees would then be in a position to unite with an outside national labor movement if they see fit; but this must be in accordance with existing agreements with the cooperatives. Or they may remain an independent national organization as is the case with the rail road brotherhoods and many others. This is very different from each worker be longing to an outside union. A machinery for arbitration should ex ist within the cooperative movement. When a difference between a local or ganization of employees and employers exists it should be settled by the local so ciety. If the existing organization is not adequate, then a Local Board of Arbitra tion should be created. This should con sist of two members appointed by the workers and two by the employers. If the local society cannot settle its own dif- refences, certainly the next step is not to take the problem out into the capialistic field. The next step is the provision of a District Board of Arbitration created the same as a Local Board. If the District Board fails to arrive at a settlement, a National Board of Arbitration is the final provision. This Board may have an im partial chairman as the odd member to guarantee a conclusion. The other boards may have such an odd member if a speedy conclusion is desired. The Goal Ahead Cooperators are sympathetic to labor. According to the Bureau of Labor Sta tistics of the International Labour Office, the employees of cooperative societies en joy better working conditions and better pay than in competing profit business. By becoming members, the workers also have a voice as employers in a democratic economic system. This places upon them responsibility for the success of the co operative society. It is theirs as much as it is anybody's. By keeping free of en tangling and potentially hostile alliances, the workers protect themselves and the society which gives them employment as well as sustenance, and which is m°"n? on toward an economic system in Wj£ those who perform useful service shall t> rewarded best and served best. Consumers' Cooperation THE COOPERATIVE ANSWER TO OUR COMMON PROBLEM \J^"T HUMANITY is engaged in a great struggle. Through trial and error are attempting a formula for the ma terial and social well-being of all people, fonsciously, or unconsciously, all of us re helping to weave the patterns in the tapestry of human destiny. We take our ues from apparent successes without too much analysis and future planning. Such a course inevitably leads to social im passes and threatening chaos. If our im peded path to future progress is to be cleared, a stock taking of human values and social practices becomes imperative. Today we are at the cross-road of. new experiences in human history. In con quering time and space we reduced the entire world (our material habitat) into one common community. By applied sciences we demolished the age-old monster of material scarcity. The former makes us neighbors to folks of many kins and climes, of many languages and tradi tions, philosophies and religions. The lat ter induces "shadow-boxing" with the phantom of scarcity in a futile effort to make operative obsolete and outmoded economic functions. "We are living between two worlds; the one dying and the other struggling to be born." By accident rather than choice humanity is face to face with a two-fold gigantic world problem—the equitable distribution of the material plenty to which we are heirs; and the replacing of prejudice, suspicion and greed by love, trust, and service among ourselves and all mankind. Consumers Must Prevent Monopoly Price Fixing We make haste to say that most of the world s social miscarriages are caused bV unsound if not intolerable business Practices which a producer-conscious, Proht-motivated system fosters. If, as widely acclaimed, consumers' coopéra is are "an economic approach to world Peace. it follows that the material and fe «alistic are the basis for the culture ™ all people—a livable and living philos- °r the sake of clarity, let us consider Ma\ 1937 R. N. Benjamin President, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau a few generalities, not hypothetic or specious but actual occurrences. Steel companies announced increased prices for steel before they increased the wage scale. Since December 1, 1936, to date, prices for steel products such as nails and fencing, increased from 7% to 24%. During this interval and under pressure of strike, the steel workers "bettered" their weekly income from zero to a re duction of $2.40, with shorter working hours and the sharing of work as the only reward. Even with increases in pay the workman finds himself actually living on even lower standards. Real wages will have gone down even though dollars and cents wages have gone up. Let us hope organized labor may soon recognize this futile "dog-catch-tail" procedure that brings no permanent relief. Labor leaders in increasing numbers agree with George Soule, who says: "The broad truth is that labor in the end derives little benefit from organization to control wages unless prices can also be controlled in the in terest of the masses of consumers." Some labor leaders already recognize consumers' cooperatives as an efficient corrective measure. This is a happy thought in the light of an unprecedented labor movement which, it is estimated, will have 12 or more million members within the next two or three years. Con sumer cooperatives among organized la bor may be expected to be a humanizing influence against the threat of an un wieldy force at the expense of the con suming masses. Automobile dealers, at this writing, are not permitted to quote prices except on machines in stock as the result of rapidly advancing steel and higher wages. Paral lel to this is the soaring of steel on the stock market along with other stocks. The result is renewed impetus to inflation and speculation. All this crowds the con sumer farther out on the limb of rising prices with dangerous forebodings for the future. That another depression is im pending is now openly conceded even in official circles. "Isn't it about time the consumer be heard in conferences which concern price- 73 fixing and the rising cost of living?" runs a recent press editorial. "The consumer," it goes on to say, "is at the end of the line with no one else to whom he can pass the price rise. In the final round of the great game of Economic Tag, the con sumer is 'It'." The Rochdale Remedy A century ago the Equitable Pioneers of Rochdale were caught in the same economic net. Did they retreat and refuse to buy at higher prices? For a while, yes. But they also struck a defense. They re routed private profits to their own cof fers. Although meager at first, they re frained from feeding into the bloodstream of the profit-takers. In ever-increasing volumes, these returns provided for a capital structure of production and dis tribution for "made for use" products un der the ownership and controf of their voluntary organization of consumers. Thus they demonstrated to all consumers everywhere how to constantly increase their own and thereby deny to profit- seekers the concentration of wealth and power. Here then, is to be found our inspiration and information. A sane plan in harmony with abun dance suggests a change "from a machine driving men into men driving a machine" program. Consumers' cooperatives in many instances already have attained such objectives. When farmers apply the principles of consumers' cooperation in the purchase of steel products, for ex ample, they will in time gain ownership of the portion of this industry that sup plies their needs. As employers, these farmer-consumers will best serve their own interests in qiving a just reward to labor. In turn the orqanized labor-con sumer will purchase the products of the farms under quality and price terms agreeable to both parties. This consumer- producer compact will completely elimi nate monopolies—the ever present de moralizing influence of exploitation. Anything short of this invites insecurity in the free and equitable exchange be tween the products of industry and of the farms. Government Regulation Futile As to the impotence of government regulations in the interest of the con sumer one example should suffice. In the 74 early days of the A.A.A., farmers ceived 6c per pound for pork. The hou *~ wife paid 40c per pound. After ^' for A.A.A. processing tax and a able amount for processing and tion there remained an "unaccountabl " spread of 25c per pound. Many ^ sumers refused to buy, could not bu " which further increased the price to C(7 sumers who bought. Such are the absu H pratices in our futile effort to revive tn» potency of scarcity functions in the midst of abundance. In private enterprise the motive is t0 operate on a price structure made p0s sible only in a system of economic scarci ty. There are no profits for anyone in surpluses, hence the incentive to induce a state of "artificial scarcity" in the midst of "potential plenty." Too much of our present-day ex change of values is bottle-necked through a channel as narrow as Wall Street. Toll is collected coming and going as the qreatly restricted flow of values passes between the producer and the ultimate consumer. From a recent news release on "Agricultural Income" by the Federal Trade Commission, we quote a most sig nificant statement, and such reports are seldom subject to exaggeration. "For the consumer the heavy costs of distribution cannot expect to be kept in satisfactory check without consumer cooperatives, and the increased consumption thereby obtained for the great masses of the peo ple would also be of substantial benefit to the farmer." This statement is an open confession of inadequate control by government function of the increasing spread in pro cessing and distributing, and an ac knowledgement of the efficiency of con sumer cooperatives to establish a more equitable exchange of goods between producers and consumers. Most signifi cant is the fact that a few days later the Federal Trade Commission suddenly withdrew the paragraph here quoted. It is not our intention to be critical or governmental efforts to bridge the gu« between producers and consumers. These attempts, honest for the most part, are perhaps, the best approach within the scope and power of government functions while monopoly control exists. MO& parity in prices to farmers, laborers and small industry called for immediate relier Consumers' Coopérai tion . A shot in the arm" may tem- resuscitate "scarcity economy" dying patient. The Consumer Re-discovered "Classical economics," with its "jungle s" of free competition, attempts to Wate economic laws to the dignity of a cience and apart from sociology. Any S(forts made to divorce material concepts r m their social, cultural and spiritual etting is both fallacious and futile. Nat- Sral laws are not ma<^e; they are dis- U vered. Sound economic laws are not man-made; they are the outgrowth of natural processes. The Equitable Pio neers made a discovery. This find led to the rediscovery of the consumer, well known to our savage ancestry, but later forgotten in the material maelstrom we now call civilization. "We are consumers by birth and na ture, and producers by nurture and ne cessity," says Dr. Horace Kallen. "If then," says he, "an economy would en- channel the basic drives of men and would be responsive to their inner urges, its ideal must be the ideal of man as con sumer, not producer." As we view the scene of economic action and its social aspects, we are obliged to completely withraw from the ranks as producers. In short, we need to become consumer-con scious. This means a complete right about face. It means that we approach our problems from a consumer viewpoint. Radical as this may seem, it is obviously the rational. We thus address ourselves to consumers. In contrast to the futile efforts of strikes, price-fixing and government reg ulation, let us consider one example of consumer approach. In Maynard, Massa chusetts, a town of about 8,000, the Finnish populace established the United Cooperative Society in 1907. Farmers and townsfolk alike enjoy its benefits as a buying center. The milk consumed, about 1.450 quarts daily, is produced by 'he farmer-members who are awarded 7 «aits per quart, f.o.b. farm. The con sumer center collects, pasteurizes and de fers the milk to consumer-members at a c°st of about 3Y2c. per quart. The con sumer paying 13c leaves an overcharge W about 2y2c. per quart which is returned 0 the consumer as patronage dividend. n this consumer-producer relationship May, 1937 not a penny goes to any disrupting and demoralizing agency. With no incentive for fraud and cheat, the consumer gets a 4.3% butterfat in his milk. As a reward for such quality the farmer nets $3.43 per 100 pounds, while farmers selling to big ger firms receive $1.98 per 100 pounds for a 3.6% milk. It is easy to see that equity and security for all concerned, so far as milk goes, is a reality. Cooperatives are usually motivated to correct unfair business practices in herent in a scarcity economy. The types that interest us are motivated by realiz ing that they are an efficient vehicle in bringing security and justice to all con sumers—the classless group that includes everybody. The latter motive has en during qualities and suggests a perma nent program. The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association cheer fully accepts this program, tries to meet its challenges, and proposes not to deviate from it. Consumer Organization Necessary We maintain that no marketing pro gram, cooperative associations included, has in any way come near solving our present marketing problems except by some form of direct consumer-producer compact. Farmer-producers by their own efforts cannot span the great gulf be tween the source of food products and the city consumer. As farmers, we have gone as far as we can. Further progress and complete success on the part of both depends upon the voluntary associations of consumers. With such objectives we promise to do our part in assisting the consumers of the city to "put their house in order." The foregoing broadly suggests that voluntary associations of consumers in the form of consumers' cooperatives be come more and more self-sufficient as we gradually recover control and ownership of the physical instruments of service in an ever-widening circle; that these co operatives federate into ever larger units; and that they utilize entire field and shop outputs within efficient reach in an ever- widening circle, not of territory, but of commodities and services one after an other. Thus production and distribution will emanate from a natural source where sound economic laws obtain. Its control will be natural limitations, not arbitrary 75 regulations. Controversy and friction arc self-disciplined. Coercion and regimented control are obsolete and governmental functions simplified. Hereby may humanity build an auto matic society where economic efforts arc spontaneously and voluntarily directed from the same common source. Thus only may we institute a "make for use" pro gram wherein sabotage and cheat be come conscious self-inflicted punish ments. Thus also we may initiate a pro gram of limitless production and distribu tion motivated by service. It is a pro gram that makes economic interests syn onymous to consumer and producer alike •—the basis for security and peace. As farmers, we beg to become a part of this picture. As consumers, our in terests are identical with those of all other consumers. As producers, we bid to freely exchange the products of the farms at a par with the producers of all other products. We feel confident that the Rochdale Principles of Consumers' Co operatives offer the most equitable and efficient program, and sincerely rec mend it to our fellow-consumers. ^" The burden for correctives rests on rt, door-step of the consumer. Upon us tte consumers, devolves the responsibility } establishing economic functions befrtt- an economy of plenty. A belated awake " ing of an apathetic public in the fo~ of voluntary associations of consume may yet move in and save us frotS threatening chaos. Are we, the Ç operative pioneers of America, couraq/ ous enough to declare all "classical eco nomics" obsolete and impossible? Do we gladly face the blistering noon sun Of scorn and criticism and turn our backs on unethical business practices? Will we un qualifiedly accept the doctrine of Con sumer Cooperation embodied in the Rochdale Principles as an approach to abundance and security—a philosophy of living commensurate to the highest reli gious concepts and as a sound program for world peace? This, fellow-cooper- ators, is the challenge we wish to bring to our co-workers in America. CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVES IN ACTION WELCOME BUILDERS OF A BETTER WORLD Over the stage welcoming the dele gates to the 20th Annual Meeting of the Central Cooperative Wholesale of Su perior, Wisconsin, hung the above sign. Another sign described in concise words the purpose of this pioneer cooperative group to which America owes so much, "Plenty to ALL. To None-Wealth or Want." There is no indefiniteness to the statements of this group that they are out to abolish poverty by eliminating profits. The completeness of the organization of the Central Cooperative Wholesale group is evidenced by the reports of their affiliates. Representatives reported for the Women's Cooperative Guild, the Co operative Youth League, the Cooperative Workers Union, the Educational Depart ment, the Publishing Association and the Auditing Department. The democracy of the discussion was outstanding. It was plainly a delegates meeting. They did nearly all of the talking. The printed re ports of the Directors and Officers were read but their further participation was largely limited to answering questions. Interspersed throughout the two days meeting were greetings from representa- 76 tives of The Cooperative League, North ern States Cooperative League, Cooper- ators Life Association, Midland Cooper ative Wholesale, Farmers Union Central Exchange, Franklin Cooperative Cream ery and others. The statistical reports showed total sales of $2,845,741 in 1936, an increase of $660,496 or 30.23%. Earn ings increased by more than $20,000 to $56,710. The expense percentage was the lowest in the Wholesale's history or 4.98%. Incidentally the first quarter of 1937 shows further increase in volume of 48%. Eight new member associations were reported with others now organ izing. Resolutions adopted by the dele gates endorsed the Wisconsin law pro viding for the teaching of cooperation and recommended similar action by other states. Another resolution advocated in come tax exemption for consumers co operatives. Four more cooperative stores are in prospect for the Lake Superior area as plans are being completed for coopera tives in Grand Marris and Duluth, Min nesota, and Shell Lake and Cumberland, Wisconsin. Consumers' Cooperation Chicago, Ill.rCo-op News, /'newsor- of Chicagoland Consumers Cooper- ganes" has listed seven outstanding de- "I'lopments in the last few months: March 25. Aurora Consumers opened co-op grocery store. 3 April 9. Racine Co-op moved to larger April 10. South Shore Consumers So ciety opened a co-op grocery. April 16. Evanston Consumers Coop- five ]aunched a second milk route and dedicated a meat department. April 20. Cooperative Society Idrott started grocery service. May 1. Ogden Park cooperators plan to open a grocery. . June 1. People s Consumers Coopera tive grocery scheduled to begin opera tions. . . While new co-ops were springing into existence the Workmen's Cooperative Mercantile Association, organized by a croup of Czechoslovakian workers in 1917, celebrated its 20th Anniversary, April 17. Minneapolis, Minn.—The cooperatives in Minnesota laid a stronger hold on their position as second largest distributors of gasoline and oil in the state when they increased their gallonage of light oils al most 10,000,000 gallons over the volume in 1935. Statistics compiled by State Oil Inspection Division showed that cooper ative oil associations sold 9.25% of all the gasoline, kerosene and distillate han dled in the state in 1936. In qasoline alone the co-ops advanced from 8.57% in 1935 to 9.51% in 1936. The total gal lonage of light oils sold by the co-ops in 1936 was 61,342,000 as compared with 51,846,000 gallons in 1935. Columbus, Ohio—The Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company moved up a notch in 1936 to become the seventh largest mutual casualty company in the U. S., according to statistics com piled by the National Underwriters As sociation. Last year the co-op ranked as |he eighth largest organization in the "eld. The year before it stood in 10th place. The co-op's percentage of increase in net premiums for the year was said to be second largest of all mutual companies writing auto insurance. During the year the Farm Bureau Mutual paid claims to taling $1,535,000 and reported assets at the close of the period amounting to $5,- 329,494. Membership in eight states to tals 178,000. The cooperative was organ ized in 1926 with a capital of only $10,- 000. Waukcgan, Illinois—The Cooperative Trading Company completed a record year with sales nearing the three-quarter million mark. The cooperative boosted its business $78,000 over its 1935 record for total sales of $709,000 in 1936. The net savings for the year were 4.7 per cent with savings to members totaling $33,- 000. During the year the cooperative ap propriated $25,000 to build a new ware house and bakery. New York — Blazoned on the wall above the new electric generating plant built to serve 629 family members of the Amalgamated Cooperative Apartments is the slogan "Cooperation Generates Power." Since the cooperative apartments were built in 1928, the Amalgamated Housing Corporation has had a conjunctional billing agreement with the New York Edison Company, under which the co operative purchased electricity at a bulk rate and distributed it to its members at considerable savings. When the agree ment was abolished in 1936 the coopera tive installed a $70,000 diesel generating plant which will cut the electric bills of its members $15,000 to $20,000 a year. In 1936 the members of the Amalga mated Housing Corporation (Van Cort- landt Park) and the Amalgamated Dwellings (Grand Street, Manhattan) saved themselves $30,000 worth of rent. Rent rebates equal to five weeks rent were returned to members of the Man hattan co-op while half-month rentals were returned in the Bronx project. The cooperative commissary, operating the grocery and vegetable stores, milk dis tribution and laundry service, declared a savings return of $7,500. North Kansas City, Mo.—Consumers Cooperative Association has established a cooperative warehouse in Denver to 77 serve affiliated cooperatives in Colorado and adjoining territory. The warehouse will stock oils, greases and tires and will add other commodities as the volume of business warrants it. The Denver ware house is the ninth established by CCA. LaGrange, Indiana—Over three hun dred young people attended a district meeting of the Cooperative Study Clubs, April 12, to form a federation of all the study clubs in the Alien, DeKalb, Elkhart, LaGrange, Noble, Stueben, Whitley and Kosciusko counties. The federation will promote cooperative education and rec reation among Indiana young people. New York—The Workmen's Mutual Fire Insurance Society, one of the oldest cooperatives in the United States, com pleted its 65th continuous year of opera tion with an increase in both membership and insurance in force. John Hofmann, Executive Secretary, declared in his report to the annual meet ing April 16, that membership has in creased to 67,800, reserves are in excess of $300,000, assets total $1,120,000 and $85,939,000 worth of insurance is now in force. The cooperative, owned and operated by workingmen, has an "A Plus" rating in Best's Insurance Manual and is recog nized as one of the outstanding insurance organizations of its kind in the field. It is serving members in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, Maryland, and Missouri, and has appli cations pending in Connecticut, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Racine, Wisconsin—The Racine Con sumers Cooperative piled up record sales of $800 in the first two days of operation in the new grocery store at 12th and Herrick Streets. The old grocery store will be used as a display room for Co-op radios, washing machines, refrigerators, electric appliances and paints. The co operative boasts a membership of 2,200. Bismark, North Dakota—C. C. Tal- bott, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union and president of the Farmers Union Central Exchange, was injured in an auto accident near here March 26 and died fourteen days later. Mr. Talbott had been associated with the cooperative movement for the last 13 years and had fostered the development 78 of the Farmers Union Youth movem A. W. Ricker, editor of the Farm Union Herald, declared, "Mr. Talk**8 was the outstanding character in the C" tire National Farmers Union movemen" No one so thoroughly as Talbott,~ ^' t sonified all the best of the hopes and a '" bitions, economically speaking, 0[ a" American farmer." e Madison, Wisconsin—The Universit of Wisconsin's Bureau of Visual Educa tion is making a movie of Wisconsin co" ops for distribution to education and co" operative groups next fall. Columbus, Ohio.—An event in the co operative world which bids fair to be historical took place in Ohio on April 5 A hundred representatives of some dozen or more city cooperative groups met with representatives of five farm cooperative associations for the first time in a state wide meeting to discuss the two most important cooperative problems in Amer ica: the development of city cooperatives in gasoline, groceries, and insurance and the extension of the services of the farm cooperatives to include home supplies as well as farm supplies. Hanover, Indiana — William Moore. Hanover College, chairman of the Na tional Committee on Student Coopera tives, has just completed a survey of cam- i pus co-ops which reveals 20,000 more ' members and a half million dollar larger business than that reported in a similar survey made a year ago. The increase is due partially to more complete data available and partially to growth of those previously reported. Type of Co-ops Members Volume 36 Book stores 80,522 $2,121,100 30 Dining clubs 1,300 184,400 42 Dormitory co-ops 3,182 454,554 5 Fraternity buying pools 2,610 409,500 45 Miscellaneous 2,588 lent frst quarter. The Sebastopol Coopera- " moved into new quarters in April and •lVdoing a business nearing $1500 a 'S th The grocery co-op at Hayward 1"° owded for space but will remain in 1S, same location until more of its 210 • become "full time cooperators." 61,144 158 90,202 $3,230,698 The 42 dormitory cooperatives are operating 122 dormitory units, some stu dent cooperative associations operating as many as ten dormitories. The number of cooperative units is therefore 238 a' compared with 159 a year ago. Oakland, California—Pacific Cooper ative Services is serving 100 families «J the East Bay area and reported tool sales of $2554 worth of groceries for »* Alto Cooperative Society has reached a volume of $85 a day. New York—A Conference Tour of Nova Scotia has been arranged which will make it possible for American co- operators and educators to study at first hand the results of the adult education program which has transformed the eco nomic and social life of eastern Nova Scotia. The tour will begin with a prelim inary conference at Antigonish, Au- qust 10, and will include a trip to' coop erative canneriq/s, fisheries, consumers cooperatives and credit unions in mining, fishing and farming areas in Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. The concluding feature will be the Rural and Industrial Conference at Antigonish, August 18 to 20. The tour is under the auspices of The Cooperative League of the U.S.A. in cooperation with the Ex tension Division of St. Francis Xavier University. Seattle, Washington—A bill to pro vide for the teaching of cooperation in the schools of the State of Washington was killed by the state Senate after it had passed the House. The bill was spon sored by the Washington State Grange. New Haven, Conn.—Fifty delegates representing over a thousand families in eleven consumers cooperatives in Con necticut met here Sunday, April 18, to discuss business and educational prob lems. Most of the co-ops are in their pre liminary stages; only one consumers co operative was in existence in the state two years ago. Mew York.—Cooperative Distributors, three year old mail order co-op, has abolished price differentials between members and non-members and estab- «shed a one price policy. From its inau guration in 1934, CD has followed a Policy pf "paying dividends in advance" Y selling to members at prices approxi- a ev 10% below non-members prices. The mail order co-op is now serving 8000 individual and club members and 150 affiliated non-profit organizations. Pittsburgh, Pa.—The Western Penn sylvania Council of Consumer Coopera tives has been organized to strengthen the educational .activities of cooperative clubs in that area. Ten clubs with more than 1,500 family members are repre sented in the federation. Washington, D. C.—"We are seeking democratic solutions to our problems of war and unemployment not merely be cause we prefer democracy to autocracy, but because there can be no real solutions which are not democratic," Edward A. Filene told the Women's National Dem ocratic Club meeting here, April 6. "War and unemployment are definite ly problems of distribution, and can be abolished only by democratic distribution —distribution to all the people of the things which they must have if they are to live peacefully and happily. The con sumers cooperative is furnishing the answer. I didn't say it is going to. I said it is; for the consumers cooperative movement in America is growing by leaps and bounds. And these coopera tives are not only thriving but are orient ing the minds of their members to the facts of modern life. Our choice is be tween Democracy — including economic democracy.—and chaos." ERRATA An error was made in printing the statistics on the Evanston Consumers' Cooperative in the ar ticle "Cooperation Advances in A Midwest Com munity" by Wade Crawford Barclay, in the April issue of Consumers' Cooperation. The following are the correct statistics on the growth of "Chi cago's Fastest Growing Cooperative." July Dec. June Dec. 1 31 30 31 1935 1935 1936 1936 Number of members 30 105 206 320 Paid-in share capital 0 $490 $1156 $2532 Gross sales at retail: groceries and milk Net savings: all operations 0 100 Total assets 0 718 Total net worth 0 590 Patronage dividend paid 0 52 General reserve 0 5 0 2119 11,390 18,976 315 2,355 1,539 268 58 1,498 5,944 4,135 555 781 Consumers' Cooperatio« May, 1937 Because of our error, it appeared that the Evanston cooperative had refunded its entire net worth in patronage dividends. 79 NEW COOPERATIVE LITERATURE Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Coopéra' tive Enterprise in Europe. The complete report of the President's Commission is available in printed form free of charge. Since the number of copies is limited, those who want copies should write immediately to the Co-op Commission, Works Progress Administration, Washington, D. C. Cooperation: The Dominant Economic Idea of the Future, Henry A. Wallace, lOc. The last twen ty pages of "Whose Constitution" are a genuine classic in cooperative literature. The Secretary of Agriculture has kindly consented to the re- publication of this stirring challenge. Repro duced in coEvenient pamphlet form it should have a profound effect upon the thinking of America. Consumers' Cooperatives, Rev. Edgar Schmiede- ler. Paulist Press, 5c. Rev. Edgar Schmiedeier, director of the Rural Life Bureau, National Catholic Welfare Conference, outlines the philosophy and present development of con sumers cooperation which, he declares, "has been a constituent part of the program of Catholic Social Action for a generation." In the appendix are statements of prominent Catholics on Cooperation. The pamphlet is particularly valuable for work in Catholic groups. Guide to the Literature on Consumer Movements, Benson Y. Landis, Consumer Distribution Cor poration, lOc. A selected bibliography of books, pamphlets and articles on Consumer Coopera tives and other consumer movements. Building Through Cooperative Action, the story of the Ohio Farm Bureau and Your Co-op, the history and development of Consumers Coop erative Association, were published within the last few months for the members of those or ganizations. Both publications are beautifully produced and contain valuable material about two of America's most progressive cooperatives. Copies can be secured from the Ohio Farm Bu reau Cooperative Association, 246 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio and Consumers Coop erative Association, North Kansas City, Mo. Postage should be included to cover mailing costs. Cooperative Health Associations, Bureau of Co operative Medicine, The Cooperative League, 26 pages, 25c. The essentials of organization and operation for cooperative health associa tions scaled to meet the needs of various com munities are outlined under four proposed plans of operation of health cooperatives. The pamphlet was prepared by the Executive Board of the Bureau, consisting of Drs. J. P. Warbasse, Kingsley Roberts, Esther Lucile Brown and Fred Mott, Prof. James C. Drury, A. J. Isser- man, Boris Orlove and Robert L. Smith. Questions Facing Consumers, a guide for discus sion, by Benson Y. Landis. Published by the Eastern Cooperative League, lOc per copy. Cooperatives, Ryllis Alexander Goslin, Foreign Policy Association, 25c. The Headline Books, published by the Foreign Policy Association are fast becoming an American Institution. A study outline to be used with the book is available for 15c per copy. 80 Cooperative Film "A Trip to Cooperative Europe," a thr moving picture of European cooperatives is^ 'ee' able for showings to cooperatives and oth^'" ganizations. The pictures were taken by 1W *' Parodneck, leader of The Cooperative r yet Tour in 1936. A rental of $5 per showing o if* per week is charged. For information writpTl" Cooperative League, 167 West 12th St., N.Vn 1 \*. WHY NOT TAKE ONE OF THESP COOPERATIVE TOURS? A Trip to Cooperative Europe The Cooperative League's Fourth Annual T • to Cooperative Europe will sail from New Y"? on the Queen Mary, July 28 and devote sev weeks to the study of cooperatives in Enola !? Scotland, Norway, Sweden, __ Finland, Denmark' Belgium and France. In each "cooperative capital" leaders of the cooperative movement will s;t fa^ with members of the tour party to discuss prnk lems of cooperative development. The Triennial Conaress of the International Cooperative Alliance bringing representatives from 39 countries to Paris September 6 to 9 will be a high point of the tour Robert Smith, educational director, Eastern C i i rr°tes- sor Henry H. Bakken. Washington, D. C. — The Monthlv Survey of Business, published by tv, American Federation of Labor points out in its May issue: "Of vital concern to Labor in the present business situation is the rapid rise of pric All our efforts to raise wages and livjn standards, and to provide industry's lifeblojl of buying power will avail nothing whatev if the rise of living costs cancels every vvaq' increase. "To profiteer by raising prices at a time when more than 9,000,000 are still without work in private industry is an act of treason against the welfare of the nation. "Trade union members in foreign countries and farmers in the United States have greatly reduced the cost of goods they buy through consumers' cooperatives, these cooperatives, starting in retail business and eventually taking over the manufacture of the goods they sell. In Sweden, a central organization of co operatives and carefully planned government action have succeeded in utilizing the advance of modern industry to raise the living stand ard." Minneapolis, Minn.—The first quarter of 1937 showed the Cooperative Oil As sociation with several records in its hat. Business in the station on the Labor Temple lot increased 27 per cent over the preceding year. The volume of the sec ond station was 64 per cent higher, and the cooperative opened a third station at Eighth and East Hennepin Streets. The net worth of the cooperative has grown from $6,600 as of March 31, 1936 to $14,947 this year. The fuel oil depart ment sales are expected to total 1,600,000 this season. Palo Alto, California — The home of Herbert Hoover and Stanford University is now also the home of a thriving con sumers' cooperative. Organized in March, 1935, by five consumers, the cooperative today has a membership of 156 families, operates a grocery store of its own and has cooperative buying contracts for laundry service, gas, oil and tires. The co-op has two full time employees and has declared its third patronage dividend. More than 40 years ago Leland Stan ford, the founder of Stanford University, provided in his founding grant that the University should offer courses in coop- Consumers' Cooperation . n ]\[o full course in consumers co- The major rural electric associations in ' tion is offered although 18 other the state are affiliated with Federated teach special courses in the sub- Electric Cooperatives. Wisconsin co-ops have set up the Wis- consin Rural Electric Cooperative Asso- dation to rush the construction of power c Ie New York _ , _,, r. . The Rural Electrification Administration completed its second year ijnes jn rurai Wisconsin. Cooperatives in eration May 11, having stimulated Illinois are pushing six projects with an imate , e]ectrification of American farms at ate unprecedented in American history, cr ce its inauguration the REA has al- 1 tted $60,000,000 for the construction of lines which will bring light and estimated cost of $1,500,000 to build 1600 mi|es of lines to fserve 8.000 farm families. Iowa cooperatives are taking the lead- e hlP in the construction of generating P ,r for the first time to 200,000 farm newer toi LllL * ' qeneratinq L mes. Administrators point out that the yc. y share of loans has been made to cooperatives and that without the leader ship °f farm cooperatives it would have been impossible to launch the present ex tensive program. Ohio Farm Bureau cooperatives have cooperatives found it necessary to build plants when private profit utilities, offered lucrative contracts, re fused to furnish power for several coop- The Rural Electrification Administra tion reports that projects have already been approved in 42 states. The Norris- Rayburn bill, which gave permanent pleted power lines to serve nearly status to the electrification program, pro- com 5000 farms in seven counties. Projects have been outlined for 27 counties and it is estimated that 50,000 farms are to be included when the program is completed. Lines are being energized for 75 to 100 farms a day. Indiana Farm Bureau cooperatives have eight projects under construction and eighteen additional projects have completed their membership drives and secured certifi cates of public con venience and neces sity. Electric lines are being erected in ten counties on proj ects which will serve 14,000 farmers at a cost of $4,000,000. By July 1st cooper ative leaders expect to have seven more projects approved which will serve an additional 10,000 families. The REA OK'ed Plans for the con struction of 4,290 Niks of lines in Minnesota to serve '2.900 families, the c°st of the lines to l°tal $4,171,000. vides for the allocation of $40,000,000 annually for the next nine years on 20- year-loans for the construction of power lines which will extend the convenience of light and power to the 85% of Amer ican farm homes now without electric service. New York — Eighteen American col leges are teaching special courses on the A '€ New York—Six hundred families, members of the Amalgamated Coopera tive Apartments are saving themselves $15,000 to $20,000 a year on their electric bills by generating their own power. 93 Cooperative Movement and .consumers cooperation is discussed in courses in economics and sociology on 131 cam puses, according to a survey just com pleted by The Cooperative League. The findings, based on 135 replies to questionnaires sent to heads of economics and sociology departments, show a tre mendous increase of interest in academic circles when compared to findings of a similar survey two and a half years ago. In the fall of 1934 only 24 of the 101 colleges reporting taught courses in the economics of consumption in which the consumers cooperative movement was discussed. Of the 18 colleges offering special courses on the cooperative movement, 7 include courses on the organization and management of cooperatives. Colleges offering full courses on the cooperative movement include: Kansas State College, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Connecticut State College, Louisiana State Universi ty, Teachers College, Columbia Univer sity, North Dakota State College, An- tioch College, Hamline University, American International College, Univer sity of Maryland, Butler University, Col lege of the City of New York, Ohio University, Lewis Institute, University \ Newark, St. Vincents College, and Ba lor University. Of these the Université" of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Kansa8 Louisiana and Connecticut State Col leges, Antioch and St. Vincents Colleqe" include special courses on the organiza tion and management of cooperatives Elk City, Oklahoma — Medical inter- ests, perturbed at the success of the Co operative Hospital which has provided medical service to its members for $25 per family per year, have attempted to undermine the project by demanding that the license of its founder Dr. Michael Shadid be revoked. Dr. Shadid points out the effect on the hospital which such action would have and in an appeal for continuance of the license he declared: "I plead for the Community Hospital, the first cooperative hospital in the nation. 1 plead for the 15,000 men, women and children who put $150,000 in it out of their pittance, and for the 100,000 who should and must have access to this and similar hospitals on a basis they can afford. I plead for the under- priviledged, the disinherited and the poor, whose only refuge is in consumers' coopera tion." COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES For complete information write directly to the organization sponsoring the institute. Northern States Cooperative League Institutes June 12-19 Maple Plain, Minnesota June 15-July 14 Brule, Wisconsin August 14-21 Lake Eshquagama, Minnesota (Other one-week institutes will be announced later) General Cooperative Youth Course General Cooperative Central States Cooperative League Institutes June 18-26 Ashland Folk School, Grant, Mich. Recreation Leadership July 18-24 Chicago, Illinois General Cooperative August 8-14 Ashland Folk School August 29-September 4 Ashland Folk School Eastern Cooperative League Institutes !uly 11-17 Massachusetts State College uly 11-24 Massachusetts State College General Cooperative Managers Course National Cooperative Recreation School, Grand View College, Des Moines, Iowa, June 7-18 Cooperative Leadership Training School, The American Peoples School, 67 Stevenson Place, New York City, July 5-August 26. International Cooperative Summer School, Nancy, France, July 3-17. Additional institutes with places and dates yet to be announced will be conducted by: Cooperative Education Association, 338 N. Citrus Avenue, Whittier, Calif. Northern California Cooperative Council, 1000 Elbert St., Oakland, Calif. Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, 246 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio. BOOK REVIEWS . nns Cooperatives" by Sidney R. Elliott, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1937, $3.00. Th literary style of this work is better than the *^ _ „™i«(^»i*c in mrvct nf r»nr rrv-inorati^o vie one encounters in most of our cooperative styk Mr. Elliott handles his English well and ''reduced a readable book, even to those parts red are largely statistical in nature. He has • much information which is not to be found (lather publications dealing with Cooperation in r ° t Britain. Some of the weaknesses of the Britfsh movement are well presented. The book is rich in fa£ts- When we come to the chapter dealing with Co- eration in politics, the political bias of the author °? s into conspicuous view. Still the movement T create a political party to be endorsed by the perative societies in Great Britain is not as nne-sided an affair as the author would have the pader believe. He is not correct in asserting that 5000,000 of the 7,500,000 members of British co operative societies endorse the Cooperative Party. What he really means, and does not say, is that cooperative societies having a total membership of 5,000,000 have passed resolutions endorsing the Cooperative Party. He fails to state also that the passage of many o( these resolutions was engineered by political methods which are far from democratic. I am in formed upon good authority that in a number of cases at a comparatively small meeting of mem bers, a resolution was passed by the "packed house method"; when as a matter of fact the majority of the society were not sympathetic with the resolution. Mr. Elliott fails to state the fact that the Co operative Party is splitting the British Labor Movement in two. It is not accepted as desirable by a considerable element of British cooperators. Tlie lovely picture of English cooperatives in politics which Mr. Elliott draws, according to my observation, is far from accurate. In all the other chapters of the book, his reasoning and data are beyond criticism. In the chapter on politics, the reasoning is fallacious and the data misleading. However, by reading this chapter on politics, one gets a good idea of the relation of this subject to the cooperative movement. It is of increasing importance because of the world's increasing trend toward stateism and because of the expansion of the many forms of political action. This book gives the reader a picture of English cooperation from the English view point. It should be widely read. J. P. Warbasse The Brave Years, by William Heyliger, Appleton- Untury, New York, p.p. 196, $1.50. William Heyliger has given us in "The Brave ears a story of genuine warmth and human in- "nst against the background of the cooperative movement. It is the story of John and Linda's "We against what seem insurmountable diffi- F™ es and their final victory achieved with the ™P °f the Cooperative Credit Union. Marrif ' - 94 Consumers' Cooperation u ...» tuition, an old ford and $5U. Aunt «ivKtk W> Linda's landlady and guardian angel, on a em their chance in the form of a mortgage run-down farm, and they gladly accept the lune, 1937 challenge. High hopes and courage and the neigh borly help of the Bindhorts carry them through the fall and winter. The hard work and drudgery of the farm is relieved by the bi-weekly folk dances and games at the school house under the direction of the Cooperative, and John becomes a leader in the games. He is too busy to listen to the advice of Bindhorst and the other neighbors to join the cooperative. John and Linda's cash assets waver between 19c and $12, and disappoint ment greets their efforts, culminating in the death of Aunt Hattie and the attempt by Mr. Craile, the banker, to foreclose the mortgage. With hope practically gone, John, on the advice of Bindhorst, goes to the Cooperative Credit Union, where he readily borrows the money to pay the taxes. The Cooperative proves to be more than the means of saving the farm, for John is hired to conduct the folk dances for the next year, and he gets a new view of things. The struggle of this courageous young couple for a living and the part the cooperative plays in turning this struggle into a "way of life" is a story which appeals to all readers. Mr. Heyliger gives us a vivid picture of the joys and hardships of farm life, emphasizing particularly the fact that while John and Linda had courage and determina tion they could never have come through their first year without the help and cooperation of their friends and neighbors. "Seems like when folks pulls together they always manages," is Aunt Hattie's prediction of their victory and Mr. Heyli ger's challenge to America. Ellen Edwards "Cooperation: The Plan for Tomorrow Which Works Today," by H. H. Hannam. The United Farmers of Ontario, Duke and George Streets, Toronto, 15c. The constantly increasing demand for informa tion on the subject of Consumers' Cooperation suitable for study or discussion groups has prompted the publishing of the above booklet by H. H. Hannam of the United Farmers of Ontario, which organization is a new member of the Na tional Cooperatives, Inc. The pamphlet contains ten chapters which discuss the history and devel opment of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement concluding with one entitled "Nova Scotia Wins Spotlight" telling the story of the study circles which have been the foundation of the Coopera- tice organizations there. The final section of the pamphlet tells in detail how to organize and con duct discussion groups. It is a valuable contribu tion to cooperative discussion group material. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St.. New York. N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. 95 THE PRESS BOOSTS CONSUMERS' COOPERATION 1 American Federationist, March and April, "An Idea Worth Hundreds of Dollars." American Observer, April 19, "Cooperatives Make World-Wide Strides." Boilermakers Journal, April. "The Worker as a Consumer," Wallace J. Campbell. ^ Building America, March, "We Consumers" En tire issue. Business Week, March 27, "Co-op Census on the Way." Christian Register, April 22, "Distribution," Ed ward A. Filene. Commonweal, April 23, "Catholics in Coopera tives," Bernard M. Flynn. Consumers Guide, March 8, "Five Days With Ohio Consumers." Domestic Commerce, March 30, "Report of the Inquiry on Cooperative Enterprise in Europe." April 20, "Democracy and Distribution," Ed ward A. Filene. Epworth Herald, April 3, "Consumers Coopera tion—Plus!" James Myers. Indians at Work, April, Entire issue devoted to the Cooperative Movement. Journal of Electrical Workers and Operators, April, "Nation's Capital Spurs Consumer Ef fort'," Louis Bessemer. Journal of Marketing, April, "Consumers Cooper ation," James C. Drury. "Can Consumer Cooperation Correct Important Defects in Marketing," James L. Palmer. Labor Information Bulletin, March, "Central Con sumer Cooperative Enterprises." Machinists Monthly Journal, April, "The Worker as a Consumer," Wallace J. Campbell. Magazine of Wall Street, March 27, "John Bull Goes Cooperative," George W. Berkalew. The Nation, April 3, "The President's Commis sion," Editorial. Tbc New Republic, April 7, "The Co-ops Grow Up." Oil Marketer, "Favoritism Shown Co-ops is Pro tested by Oil Marketers." Pilgrim Highroad, April, "We Could Find No Slums," C. A. Bowen. Quarry Workers Journal, April, "Triple Program of the British Labor Movement." Queen's Work, May, "Small Cooperatives Speak an Economic Hope Here," George A. Mc Donald, S. J. Railway Clerk, April, "The Worker as a Con sumer," Wallace J. Campbell. Railway Carmen's Journal, "The Worker as a Consumer," Wallace J. Campbell. Rural America, April, "Youth Need Cooperative Endeavor," Neil Bolton. Social Frontier, April, "Co-op Report," Editorial. Social Justice, April 5, "Consumer Cooperative Plan Is Idea of Thrifty Britisher." April 12, "Swedish Co-ops Displace Monopo lies." Voluntary and Cooperative Groups Magazine, April, "Consumer Cooperatives in Sweden," Torsten Henriksson. 96 The American Year Book, Thomas n Sons, New York, $7.50. n attf Six pages on Religion and Religious orqan1 tipns are devoted to the cooperative workofn Toyohiko Kagawa and the Federal Council i Churches and Christian Cooperative Fellow h°' in stimulating interest in cooperatives Pr , King Sheldon. ' estt» WHY NOT TAKE ONE OF THESE COOPERATIVE TOURS? A Trip to Cooperative Europe The Cooperative League's Fourth Annual Tri to Cooperative Europe will sail from New YoV on the Queen Mary, July 28 and devote seve weeks to the study of cooperatives in England Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark Belgium and France. In each "cooperative capital1' leaders of the cooperative movement will sit down with members of the tour party to discuss prob lems of cooperative development. The Triennial Congress of the International Cooperative Alliance bringing representatives from 39 countries to Paris September 6 to 9 will be a high point of the tour Robert Smith, educational director, Eastern C mum"; providing for minimum wages,- leisure, housing, education and health. But all this only means that we are in the process of equalizing poverty. Behind all government action of this nature, to relieve the pains of a dying economic or der, we must have increasing voluntary organization of ourselves as producers, and consumers to establish maximum standards. Such government action does -not hit directly at the key question of profits. We must organize non-profit producer and consumer associations to> achieve the maximum economic possibili ties for all. The Deceitfulness o£ Riches The American people are asked to be lieve that the sales and purchases of stocks between Pierre S. DuPont and John J. Raskob, involving nearly thirty million dollars which came out within $46: of a perfect balance, was simply an "acci dent" a "coincidence," that it "just hap pened" and was "innocently conceived." Even though checks covering the first transaction amounting to $4,606,000 and $4,582,750 virtually cancelled each other and arrived at the bank simultaneously, still "no special arrangement was made," we innocent people are asked to accept. Likewise, when the same stocks were re purchased, it was not "by design" at all, even though the government considers the transactions to have been "wash sales" to evade the payment of $1,824,122' additional income taxes in 1929. Thus men, with riches beyond reason, will attempt to take advantage of legal loopholes to evade returning a little of the surplus incomes they receive to the people in the form of taxes. They follow the slogan of selfishness to get all you can and keep all you get. President Roosevelt announces an investigation of "tax-dodging millionaires." It should be interesting reading. But why expect any thing else? Tax-dodging is only a small' part of the social sins of the whole sys tem. Where did their wealth come from in the first place? From war, which is mass murder for profit. From bribery of government officials as a part of foment ing war. From spying and violence, as revealed by the LaFollette Committee in the war of big business against labor or ganizations. When the sources of great wealth are 9cj If" so corrupt, it is not to be wondered at that equally immoral tactics will be used in attempts to evade returning part of it to the people. The whole trail is an ex hibition of the results of a system based •on individual selfishness and greed. Against this, contrast the story of John T. W. Mitchell, the great early president of The Cooperative Wholesale Society of Great Britain. There was every evi dence that he could have been a rich pri vate .manufacturer. Instead, he gave up his personal business and spent his life in building the greatest non-profit business institution in the world. His income was only sufficient for his simple needs, his estate at his death was nearly nothing. Yet he had enough and also great honor for his integrity. His successors, who are carrying on the business whose founda tions he played such a vital part in lay ing, receive about $5,000 per year, but they have security and superannuation. They are not tax-dodgers, they do not re ceive their incomes from fomenting wars, they do not set spies on their employees. They have their own self-respect and that of the people. It is possible for leaders of business to be honest and up right when the peoole build brotherhood into the structure of business, as they do •when they organize themselves into con sumers cooperatives. As fast as we do, the prediction of Charlotte Perkins Gil- man will come true: But, Io! some people, odd and funny, Some men without a cent of money, The simple common Human Race, Chose to improve their dwelling place. They had no use for millionaires; They calmly said the world was theirs; They were so wise, so strong, so many— The millionaire? There wasn't any! T.C.A. Asks Aid for Spanish Cooperators The International Cooperative Alli ance has issued its third call for aid to cooperators who are victims of the re bellion in Spain. French cooperators are already feeding 2000 Spanish children who are refugees from Madrid and Bil bao; but the need is very great. Although $50,000 has already been contributed by organizations affiliated with the ICA the amount is "wholly inadequate to meet the great needs of the Spanish cooperators in the tragic situation in which they have 100 been placed—without fault of their o\v " The message from the ICA reads ' part as follows: ln The Central Committee, therefore, more strongly than ever to the of every country to recognize the EUROPE LOOKS AT AMERICA Comments by European Cooperative Leaders On Their Visits to America in 1936. of humanity, and cooperative brotherhood."!?5 coming without delay, to the aid of their'fi low cooperators in Spain who are not 0 i risking their lives and all they hold dea • the entirely justified purpose of saving th™ country, but are also engaged in a struqrf' which may well have in its issue the preserv tion of civilization itself. a" Considerable funds have been raised by American cooperators but there are many who have not yet done their bit to help our fellow cooperators over the sea Funds should be sent to the International Cooperative Alliance through The Coop erative League of the U.S.A., 167 West 12 Street, New York City. Cooperative Education and Recreation Committees The most important single element in a local cooperative association is not the Board of Directors, the officers or the manager, important as they all are. The most important group is the "Educational and Recreational Committee," if it func tions as it should. This committee, which is still non-existent in many American co operative associations, should be the real inspirational and informational nucleus behind the association. A Board of Di rectors and a manager who are wise enough to encourage their leading pro gressive members to become active on such a committee will find that "constant ly greater success in cooperative business follows a sound education and recreation program." A German writer says that it is upon the attitude and activity of such a nucleus that the inner life and real prog ress of any social movement depends. In Sweden another writer says that the membership of 25,000 persons jn their study circles "is important enough to in fluence the creation of general opinion among the 550,000 members of the Co operative Movement." Cooperative asso ciations in America are now beginning to sense these facts and to appoint such committees and provide them with ample funds from the savings of the cooperative to carry on educational and recreational programs. fEdit°rial not;e: fr 's always interesting and . ajjje to be able to see ourselves as others see Here are some of the observations of European r nerative Leaders as a result of their visits to in 1936). HENRY J. MAY, General Secretary of the International Cooperative . Alliance, wrote in the January, 1937, is- ue of the Review of International Coop eration: "There is little doubt but that the Con- ess at Columbus will mark a milestone on the way of the Cooperative Move ment in America towards its integral development. This is evident not only in the intensive activity and enthusiasm of the delegates for the cooperative idea, but also in the realization of the com plexity of the economic problem with which its leaders are confronted, and above all, because Cooperation in the U.S.A. has, at long last, found itself." Sir Fred Hayward, Chairman of the British Cooperative Union, said in an article in the October, 1936, issue of The . Cooperative Review: ' "What one may call a cooperative fer ment seems to be now general throughout the United States . . . There seems to be no doubt that the events of recent years have extended the vision of the American people to lands across the sea. They are probably more international in their out look than ever before, and their readiness to learn the cooperative lessons of the old world for application in the new is a practical piece of cooperation with which it is a privilege to have been associated. The day may not be far distant when we may be able to go to America for advice on our cooperative problems." Hugo Vasarla, Managing Director, ^•O.K., Finland, wrote his reactions to the American movement in the December 1936 issue of the Review of International Cooperation: The Americans have, however, grad- "ally come to realize that their retail dis tributive system, which from the point of view of business technique is very ad- Consumers' Cooperation July, 1937 vanced, and works smoothly, does not fulfill all that should be expected of it from the national economic point of view. Lower costs should mean a correspond ing advantage both for the producer and the buying public. In this respect, Ameri can distribution has developed in the wrong direction. The leaders, beginning with the President, the men of science, the economic research institutions, the educated classes and the press have come to the conclusion that an effective Con sumers' Movement must be set up in or der to reduce trading costs and the im moderate profits of private enterprise. The forms of enterprise and the organi zations now existing cannot be relied upon for this purpose; presumably they are either incapable of doing anything, or have no wish. The Cooperative Move ment has become a subject of lively in terest in all circles. Agricultural Coop eration is, as we know, strongly devel oped. The Consumers' Movement, which was really started by Finns, is only just beginning, though it is satisfactory to note that it has recently got fresh wind in its sails." Robert Murray, Director of Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society, com mented in the January, 1937, issue of The Producer: "Whilst cooperation was forging ahead in Britain and in parts of the continent of Europe, it has vanished almost com pletely from the minds of men, and sons of men, who had left the Old World to settle in the New. And now, with a kind of startling suddenness, the explosive economic doctrines of cooperation have burst through into the general body of American thought, today they constitute a large element in all public and private discussions relating to social conditions. On this point abundant evidence was presented to us on a recent trip across the continent, from New York to British Co lumbia and back, again. Cooperation was being written about and talked of every where. In educational, business, political and ethical circles it seemed to be the principal topic of the moment." 101 FROM GASOLINE TO GROCERIES Midland "PRACTICAL application of the coop- -*- erative principle of continuous ex pansion often limps behind the theory, or is attested by examples in the general rather than in the particular. In the case of the Isanti County Co operative Association of Cambridge, Minnesota, practice and theory march hand in hand, and this particular example shines like a beacon for the guidance of other cooperatives. Moreover, the Cambridge example proves many points about which there has been some doubt and dispute even among cooperators. Such questions have been posed as: "Can an oil cooperative suc cessfully expand into the household gro cery field, where there is a much smaller margin than in petroleum products?" and "Is it possible for a cooperative store to succeed in a community already served by efficient and popular local merchants and chain stores?" Also, "Can a coopera tive store succeed without the homoge neous national group which in other lo calities has provided a definite and de pendable clientele from the start?" Continuous Cooperative Expansion The Cambridge co-op has answered these questions merely by succeeding in doing what the theory of continuous ex pansion implies should be done. It pro ceeded from gas to groceries within two and a half years of its beginning, and it has succeeded in spite of local merchants and chain stores and the lack of a com pletely homogeneous national group. Cambridge has a population of about 1200, and is the largest village in a coun ty having a population of about 12,000. Thus Cambridge in reality is the supply station for a majority of Isanti County's people. On the sandy loam which consti tutes the greater part of the county's area, they raise potatoes, small grains and hay, hogs, cattle and poultry, and they come to Cambridge with their products in or der that they may buy the goods and services which are required for living and "working on the farm. In this environment the Isanti County cooperators, in the short space of five 102 years, have built a cooperative entern • which during 1936 reached a busi^ volume of $214,000, upon which tT* saved over $22,500. In four years a I five months they sold themselves $55« 762 worth of goods, and saved , What is perhaps more important, the have built the spirit of cooperation which is becoming more and more manifest i the lives and activities of the people of the whole community. Meeting an Urgent Need Cooperation originates and grows where and when the need is consciously felt. Thus it was at the bottom of the depression in 1932, when the farmer was receiving close to the lowest returns for his labor in the history of American agri culture, that a group of Isanti County farmers, inspired by the success of the cooperatives in nearby Mora and Prince- ton, decided to organize one of their own. F. J. Linnell and Andrew Boline directed the drive for members. The goal was 300 shares at $10 per share. Due to financial conditions they could raise only $1800; the Midland Cooperative Wholesale of- ' fered its assistance, however, in order I that a bulk plant and the necessary sup- 1 plies might be secured. * The co-op began operations August 20, 1932, on that day selling fifty-nine gallons of gasoline. Compare this with the average daily sales during April, 1937, of more than 2,000 gallons. In the first five months of operation the volume of sales reached $10,750. There were some 680 patrons of whom 192 were stockholders. Savings in this first period were $1,200, a creditable amount and an indication of good man agement. Each year since then progress has been rapid, and sound also, for the manage ment has been hard-headed as well as aggressive. Mr. Linnell served as man ager until he was called by the Midland to become manager of its warehouse m Milwaukee. Since then Victor Ericson. one of the original incorporators, has managed the business in addition to serv ing as secretary of the board. Success in Gas and Oil petroleum sales advanced by surprising at first, then more slowly but still dily- In ^rst ^u^ year> 1^33, gaso- 5 ^rosette and distillate sales amount- Tto 322,311 gallons, or about 24 per E t of such sales in Cambridge. The next ce« _^ the volume passecj 621,000 ns or over 41 per cent of Cambridge ales. In 1935 and 1936 the percentage of sfi etroleum business remained approxi- 3 teiv the same, in spite of advances in aallonage to 704,000 and 812.000, re spectively. In the entire county the coop erative handles approximately 35 per cent of all the petroleum products sold. Dollar sales have grown as follows: 1933, $53-525; 1934, $107,600; 1935, $123^437 (not including the store); 1936, $148,731 (not including the store). ' Assets have likewise qrown. Total as sets were $55,953 as of January 31, 1937. Capital had grown to $13,280 in fully paid shares and $6,107 in partly paid shares. Reserves exceeded $6,000. mak- inq total net worth in excess of $25,000. This much has been accomplished in less than five years. The association has service stations or pump outlets at twenty points throughout the county. In addition three tank trucks deliver to farmers. The Cambridge head quarters is equipped to give complete service to cars, trucks and tractors. Moving Into New Fields The policy of the association has been to expand into new lines and activities whenever the members demanded new commodities or services, and finances permitted. Thus batteries, tires and tubes were included in the commodity list from the very beginning. Twine and salt have been handled in large quantities. Some what over a year ago a line of farm machinery was added, a particularly val uable addition in view of the total ma chinery volume of over $9,000 in April, 1937. However, despite the impressive suc cess made in the lines so far mentioned, the real success of cooperation in Cam bridge is evidenced in Department B— the Co-op store. Their experience in the oil association had inspired the members with a con sciousness of their power as organized consumers. They had discovered the Consumers' Cooperation July, 1937 value of their purchasing power. Through their oil association they had also built up an economic unit and financial strength, both of which would be needed in opening a store department. With characteristic aggressiveness and com mon sense they decided upon the steps to be taken, and in February, 1935, the store was formally opened. It was to have a double function, first, to provide the members with consumer goods, and sec ond, to market consumer goods produced by members on the farm. Groceries and meats constituted the bulk of the first, and poultry products the greater part of the second. Any doubt as to the success of this new venture was soon dispelled, for by the close of the fiscal year, January 31, 1936, the volume of business transacted had reached $49,174, upon which the net in come was $2,006, or over 4 per cent. Dur ing the next full fiscal year, store sales totalled $65,649. The same year produce sales reached $15,276, upon which the association lost $83.63. Apparently Cam bridge cooperators believe in paying the producer as much as possible and charging the consumer as little as pos sible. The net income of Department B in 1936 was $2,911, or 4.43 per cent of sales. Beating the Chain Special significance may be given the fact that a chain store was the Co-op store's next door neighbor until this spring, when it moved out to a smaller building, while the Co-op is taking the larger quarters formerly occupied by the chain store. Through entrance into the store field the Cambridge association had become a member of the Central Cooperative Wholesale of Superior, Wisconsin, which supplies the greater part of the groceries handled. It was already a mem ber of the Midland Cooperative Whole sale, and was in addition an agent for the American Farmers Mutual Auto Insur ance Company and a member of the Co operative Insurance Association, a bro kerage organization. Cambridge cooperators have also or ganized their own credit union, with membership open to members and patrons of the cooperative association. This credit union is just beginning to function prop erly, having 126 members as of May 1, 103 1937, with shares of $4,627. Nearly all of this money was in use by members, 55 borrowers having loans of $4,422. Paul Becklin, treasurer of the credit union, be lieves the cooperators have just begun to discover its facilities for saving and bor rowing and that they will use these serv ices to an ever increasing degree in the future. Renewed Strength Thru Education The economic growth outlined above has been the most apparent sign of co operative activity in Isanti County, but it has by no means been the only one. An active educational program has been fol lowed each season, due in large part to the work of the Women's Guild. When the association built an addition to its service station in the latter part of 1936, a large assembly room, a kitchen and a directors' room were included on the sec ond floor. The assembly room is used two COOPERATIVE BURIAL Editor's Note: Mr. Reuben Schäkel, the author of the following article, is President of the Iowa State Federation of Cooperative Burial Associa tions, Pella, Iowa. This Federation includes ten cooperative burial associations in the State of Iowa, as follows: Pella Cooperative Burial Asso ciation, Pella; Fremont Cooperative Burial Asso ciation, Fremont; Sioux County Cooperative Burial Association, Sioux Center; Oilman Cooperative Burial Association, Gilman; Benton and adjoining Counties Cooperative Burial Association, Key stone; Winneshiek County Cooperative Burial Association, Decorah; O'Brien County Coopera tive Burial Association, Sanborn; Lyons County Cooperative Burial Association, George; Whiting Cooperative Burial Association, Whiting; Doon Cooperative Burial Association, Doon. IN September, 1929, a group in and around Pella, Iowa, met together to consider what could be done about the high cost of funeral service and caskets when they had a death in their families. It seemed to them they were being taken advantage of at a time when their bar gaining power was at its lowest ebb. After investigation it was found that very good caskets could be purchased reasonably, and after finding this to be a 104 or three times a week, for meetings of operative and other groups. °" The association has also indicated 't appreciation of a trained personnel r/ sending several of its employees to tra' ^ ing schools and summer camps. It w°" one of the first member associations t$ avail itself of the opportunity of holdin° one of Midland's circuit schools. Variou educational enterprises are being conS sidered for the future, both for emplOyees and members. The outstanding achievements of this comparatively young cooperative have been due to an aroused and quickened membership aware of its economic power an aggressive and capable leadership and a condition of need no different from the condition existing in practically everv American community. The example of Cambridge should be a stimulus to other communities to begin or to continue the work which all cooperators have applied themselves to do ... rebuilding America through Mutual Aid. Reuben Schäkel fact, it appeared to them that embalmers charged an excessive price for their pro fessional services, and were claiming that the cost of the caskets was so great that they must charge excessive prices for a complete funeral. First Steps As a result, this small group organized themselves and started out to get five hundred families to pay a membership fee of ten dollars per family, and if this were possible, to organize a cooperative burial association under the cooperative law of the State of Iowa. After a few months, 350 families signed up and this group was then called together to incor porate and open a place of business. A Board of nine Directors was elected to fill terms of one, two and three years, electing three Directors each year. The Board then employed an em- balmer licensed by the State of Iowa m accordance with tfee State Board ol Health rules and regulations. Oak, metal and cloth covered caskets were p"r' (J from a casket manufacturer, mak- C omlete line to choose from. An ' comple -date hearse and all other necessary UP'iprnent was purchased, all being paid fout of the membership fees paid in by jfe 350 families. After three years of operation, a beau- •f 1 funeral home was purchased, where •' • possible for members to take the hndies of their loved ones, and where vices can be held it the family desires. This has proved very satisfactory both f r the family and the association. The mbalmer has an apartment in the home, en(j the office of the association is main tained there. The bereaved family can find comfort and quiet in their own funeral home, and their friends can view the remains of their loved ones there. Burial Without Exploitation When a death occurs in the family of one of our members, the funeral home is called. The undertaker and one of the Directors, who is appointed by the year, to help manage the funerals and be of service to the family and the undertaker, take complete charge of the service. The family comes to the funeral home and selects a casket of their own choice. Each casket is plainly marked as to price, which ranges from $50 to $125 for the ! most beautiful oak, mahogany or metal ' caskets. To this is added $35 for profes- j sicmal services and $12 for the use of the ' hearse, making a total cost of $97 for the lower price funeral, which is the one used in most cases, up to $172 for the most elaborate one. To this can be added $65 for a metal or concrete vault, which is quite often used. The membership fee of $10 is not part of the funeral cost, but becomes the property of the association when the last dependent member of the family passes away. The cost of the funeral is paid to the manager of the association, who is the undertaker, and in any given year the savings on the operation of the coopera tive are paid back proportionately to the families who have had funerals in that year. It has been proven, to be profitable from the beginning, an association must have 500 family members. The Pella Co operative Burial Association has now 869 family members and is progressing very satisfactorily. There are ten cooperative burial asso ciations in the State of Iowa which are grouped together into a State Federation for legislative purposes, and for promot ing the organization of new associations. As soon as enough associations have been organized in the state, the federa tion will probably go into the manu facture of caskets and funeral supplies. The cost of funerals in the localities where the cooperative burial associations operate has been materially reduced, and the Cooperative Movement has rendered another service to the people of these communities of which the Cooperative Movement may well be proud. NOTE—The following figures have also been supplied by Mr. Schäkel for the benefit of groups who may desire to organize Coopérative Burial Associations: Original Investment Required Assets Hearse Stock of Caskets Other Items Cash Working Funds $2,000 800 1,000 1,200 5,000 Liabilities 500 Membership Fees @ $10 Estimated Year's Operating Budget Expense Salary, Licensed Embalmer $1,500 Rent 400 Other Items 600 Operating Savings 1,250 Income 50 Funerals @ $75 per Funeral $5,000 5,000 $3,750 3,750 3,750 Consumers' Cooperation July, 1937 105 THE BRITISH COOPERATIVE CONGRESS Lionel •ins (Editor's Note: Lionel Perkins has been a stu dent at the Cooperative College, Manchester, dur ing the past year and extended the greetings of The Cooperative League of the USA to the Con gress of the Cooperative Union). r I 'HE international importance of the -*- Cooperative Movement was stressed by many speakers at the Sixty-Ninth Congress of the Cooperative Union of Great Britain held in Bath, May 15-19. Overseas delegates were present from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Swed en, Canada, and the United States. Our British friends do not conceal their pleas ure in hearing how the torch has been carried from that once feeble flame in Rochdale to the ends of the earth. And so this year, according to long pursued custom, the British Congress listened at its first session to fraternal greetings from overseas delegates. Eighteen hundred and eighty-nine del egates presented themselves at the beau tiful new Forum Cinema in historic Bath, famed for its hot mineral springs which have brought health to many since the early Roman occupation of England. A British Congress sits throughout the sessions in one body, and in this respect differs from the American Congresses which are sectionalized after the first general meetings. The delegates are asked to vote upon the report of the Central Board of the Cooperative Union, to which have been added resolutions and amendments by in dividual societies. Cooperation and Politics Early in the Congress it became evi dent that closer accord between the Co operative Movement and Party and the Labor Partv was not only desirable but necessary if consumer interests were to be best served. Although but few British Cooperators would deny that political af filiation is vital for protection of the movement, there still remains the ques tion of which can best serve consumer in-, terests — the Cooperative Party (with nine M.P.'s at present), the Labor Par- 106 ty, or a more harmonious working rangement between both parties. Of equal interest to the delegates the resolution of the Portsea Island ciety asking that a committee be we shall have governments bent n maintaining peace instead of build- uP°upon a war policy as a means to eco- socia^ salvation. Mr. George to work out a method of co-ordinati between the C.W.S. and the productif societies which are often competing with each other for the retail societies' trade offering the same commodity lines. Effort' have been made towards co-ordination before, but have in each instance failed because of the inability of the C.W.S. to guarantee the output of the productive societies, or to absorb their travelers The resolution was carried. President Haskins called upon cooper- ators to support to the fullest their Ten Year Plan and, in realization of the qreat- ness of the Cooperative Movement, to shake off the inferiority complex that grips many cooperators. The Fruits of Cooperative Production Perhaps the most interesting occur rence in Bath during the Congress Week. outside the meetings of the delegates, was the great Cooperative Exhibition which attracted thousands of people to see the productions of the C.W.S., S.C.W.S.. Cooperative Productive Federation and Cooperative Printing Society. Surely no more forcible demonstration of the vast- ness of Cooperative Production has been shown, certainly not more attractively. Many encouraging statements were made during the week concerning the in ternational possibilities of cooperative trade between the United States and Britain. Negotiations which were already consummated between the Consumers Cooperative Association, North Kansas City and the S.C.W.S., were also dwelt upon. The British Cooperative Movement's international policy builds upon the League of Nations and collective security- Delegates' declarations at Bath show the way to securinq peace. If cooperators both in Enqland and the United States propagate the cause of peace, then, per" Consumers' Cooperation P°jjle, director of C.W.S., wished espe- • lly that we in the United States would COOPERATIVE HOUSING COOPERATIVE housing in America is assured under the terms of the \Vagner-Steagall Low-Rent Housing Bill (S-1685 - HR 5033) now pending before Congress. Although the bulk of the funds pro vided under the terms of this Bill will be available to local housing authorities for the construction of low-rent housing, co operative housing societies can receive a total of $100,000,000 in loans during the next four years, beginning with July 1, 1937. Wagner Act Provisions j The value of the cooperative projects , possible under this Bill will be consider- j ably higher than the amount of appro priation, however. In the first place, the maximum which can be loaned to any one cooperative project is 85% of the total development cost—'thus the projects built would total at least $118,000,000. In the second place, it is not to be exoected that every cooperative project will need the full 85% loan from the United States Housing Authority. Many projects will he able to secure loans from banks, in surance companies, and other private in vestors, since third party loans (financing m addition to the capital of the coop erative) are senior to loans by the U. S. Housing Authority. Demonstration Projects The Bill also authorizes construction ot $25,000,000 worth of demonstration fleets durinq each of the four years of ne program by the U. S. Housing Au- nority, and carefully stipulates that these July, 1937 direct the whole of the cooperative move ment's sympathy toward peace and the League of Nations, which then would be come a real world force with the united energies of the English speaking peoples directed toward a common objective. Dorothy Schoel Housing Legislation Information Office projects shall either be sold to local hous ing authorities, or leased to public hous ing authorities or cooperative housing societies. This provision was included be cause a few States have not passed the necessary legislation to permit local groups to initiate projects, and it means that cooperative housing is possible in every State. An Opportunity and a Responsibility for Cooperatives The Wagner-Steaqall Housing Bill is only the beginning of a housing program for the United States, but it creates the definite framework for a continuing na tion-wide program on a permanent basis. Though the present financial provisions are modest, they can be expanded as ex perience and needs develop. The coop erative housing societies of the country have a tremendous opportunity to build houses under the terms of this Bill. And if cooperatives are successful, additional provision will undoubtedly be .made for them when the program is expanded. While the Senate Committee on Edu cation and Labor recently held public hearings, and indicated its intention of issuing a favorable report in the near future, active support will be vitally im portant when the Bill is up before the House. The cooperatives of the country will want to add their approval of this meas ure to the large number of national and local organizations which are now urging immediate passage. Official resolutions and personal letters to the President and members of Congress are the way to ex press interest. 107 CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVES IN ACTION Springfield, Mass. — Preparations of the new Springfield Consumers Coop erative to take over a gas station on a lease from a private owner, caused such a rush of trade that three directors of the co-op had to take off their coats and help the old owner pump gasoline. The station opened as a cooperative June 1. The co op was organized in February with 316 members and pledged share capital of $2400. Amarillo, Texas—Consumers Cooper atives Associated added 3,000 individual members to the consumers served through local cooperatives affiliated with the co op wholesale in 1936, and added $87,229 to its volume of business. The total vol ume in 1936 stood at $324,124 as against $236,895 in 1935—a gain of 36 per cent. New York—In August, 1936, Eastern Cooperative Wholesale abandoned its role as broker for a few of the eastern co-ops and set up its own wholesale for the distribution of co-op label products. At its annual meeting May 31, L. E. Woodcock, manager, announced that the wholesale is now serving 157 cooperative stores and buying clubs, as compared to 30 a year ago, 155 products are being distributed under the co-op label and business the first four months of 1937 totaled $160,900 as against $85,492 in the same period a year ago—a gain of 86 per cent. Eastern Co-op Wholesale has opened a Boston office to serve cooperatives in New England, while the New York office has expanded to occupy three floors of the warehouse building at 112 Charlton Street. The 150 delegates to the annual meeting took steps to increase capital by voting that all organizations purchasing through the wholesale must affiliate within four months and each retail cooperative shall pay 4 per cent of its annual purchases to ward the capital of the wholesale. Harrisburg, Pa. .— The Harrisburg Consumers Cooperative Association, which for a year had its headquarters in the basement of the Farm Bureau Build ing, moved downtown early in June and established a store in the main business section. 108 Chicago—The board of directors Of National Cooperatives, meeting jj ' May 18 voted to take further steps to safeguard the "Co-op" label by regis tering its use on electrical appliances and requiring unanimous approval of member organizations in National Cooperatives for the extension of the use of the trade mark to any outside organization. Ti,e right to the use of the label is owned by National Cooperatives. The Cooperative Wholesale, Inc., Of Chicago was voted into membership and will now handle Co-op tires, radios and electrical appliances which are purchased for member organizations of the national cooperative business federation. National Cooperatives has launched an intensive program on electrical applj. ances and has held Appliance Shows in Columbus and Kansas City, and plans others in Minneapolis, Superior and In dianapolis. North Kansas City, Missouri—Howard Cowden, president of Consumers Coop eratives Association, has been invited to address the Congress of the International Cooperative Alliance in Paris in Septem ber on the possibility of establishing an International Cooperative Oil Whole sale. Columbus, Ohio — Twelve hundred farm youth, cooperative managers and employees, county farm bureau and co op presidents and farm women are ex pected to attend summer camps and insti tutes which will be conducted by the edu cation division of the Farm Bureau Co operative Association this summer. The camps will include six youth camps, three for farm women, three for managers and three for office employees and publicity directors. The camps will range from three to five days in length and will make use of more than a dozen of Ohio's rustic beauty spots. Maywood, Illinois — Clarence W- Failor, a cooperator and trained occupa tional research worker, is making a sur vey of personnel and labor policies in co operatives. The survey should bring to light a wealth of valuable information, has the support of National Cooperatives. Inc., the Central and Northern btates nues, Midland and Central Cooper- • e Wholesales. All cooperatives are Jged to assist. Milwaukee, Wisconsin — A Coopera- • e Institute sponsored by the Milwau- '1V County Cooperative League brought f£ ther representatives of Midland Co- erative Wholesale, Cooperative Insur gée Mutual, West Allis Consumers Co- 3 erative, The Peoples Cooperative, The Milwaukee Consumers Association, The Federated Coopérative and the Christian Cooperative Fellowship for a full day session. The meetinq was called to acquaint the people of Milwaukee County with what the co-ops are doing locally. Besides edu cational addresses, the consumers were treated to a display of cooperative prod ucts and services of all kinds. Lake Elmo, Minnesota—The directors of the American Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Association took official action to move the main office and annual meet ing place to St. Paul. Total income of the coooerative increased from $47.000 in 1935 to more than $100,000 in 1936. With the move to St. Paul and increasing co operative business the volume is expected to double again this year. Chicago—The Evanston Consumers Coooerative (described in detail in the April issue of Consumers' Cooneration) pushed its sales up from $3,400 in De cember to $6,300 in Anril while Con sumers' Cooperative Services. Hyde Park, boosted its sales from $6,700 in December to $7,038 in April. The joint buying service on vegetables for Chicago co-ops hit $300 a dav in mid-Mav and the Chicago Co-op News estimated, June 1, membership in co-ops in the Chicago area at 6,100 with 139 em- plovees and business estimated at $1,- 485.000 a year—$4,800 a day. Superior, Wisconsin—Central Coop erative Wholesale has authorized an other 8-week Cooperative Training school for present and prospective co operative employees. The school will be jjeld in Superior starting late in Septem ber. Between 35 and 40 students can be accommodated. The course committee *"1 select the students from the applica tions received. Thirty-five students re- ce'ved similar training last fall and a ma- Consumers' Cooperation July, 1937 jority of them are already in positions in cooperative stores. New York—Six hundred members of Consumers Cooperative Services packed the auditorium of the New School for Social Research for a special membership meeting of CCS, May 18, and voted a new labor policy which will commit the co-op cafeterias to the formula widely used in European cooperatives. By an overwhelming vote the members in structed the board of directors to nego tiate a contract with Cafeteria Workers Union 302 which would fix wages at ten per cent above the hourly rate paid by an average of the ten best contracts the un ion has with competitors of the cooper ative. North Kansas City, Mo. — Ignoring protests from the Ministerial Alliance, local cooperatives and other civic groups, the Board of Education of Kansas City, Kansas refused to reconsider the dis missal of C. O. VanDyke from the faculty of the Junior College, Mr. Van Dyke, a popular and talented professor, was dis missed for his participation in the organi zation of the local cooperative. Labor organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union also protested against the dismissal and 245 out of the 350 students in the Junior College peti tioned his reinstatement. But President Frank Rushton of the Board of Educa tion dismissed the protests with the pious cant, "Some of the members of the board have prayed to the Lord that our deci sions have been right. The matter is closed." Washington, D. C. — Cooperation forged further ahead with the opening May 5 of the Rochdale Restaurant, a co operative formed to serve government employees and other members of Wash ington cooperatives. The business of Rochdale Stores has topped $650 each week for more than a month. In the week ending May 8 it was over $720. From January 9 to April 27 the cooperative store did a business of $8,711. An experienced grocery man and an assistant manager, with the assistance of a number of volunteer committees are handling the growing business. Konsum, the gas and oil cooperative reported that gasoline sales reached 1700 gallons a week in April. 109 Washington consumers are also oper ating a Co-op Fashion Shop. The con sumers club is buying coal, milk, men's clothes, books, etc. on a collective bar gaining contract. And early in May a co operative housing project was officially organized. New York—Dr. J. Raymond Walsh, Harvard economist, was elected presi dent of Cooperative Distributors, national mail order cooperative, at the meeting of the board of directors following the an nual elections May 24. Business of the cooperative increased 30 per cent during the fiscal year totaling $130,652 in 1936 as against $99,726 in 1935. The annual meeting voted to set up special member ship committees on education, member ship, finance, quality and service check up and club work to increase the ef fectiveness of the organization during the coming year. Brule, Wisconsin—Dr. R. C. Williams of the Resettlement Administration de clared in an address here that the R. A. will make loans of $40 to farmers who can qualify and who desire such loans to enable them to become members of the Cooperative Health Association. Officials of the Resettlement Administration have urged all to take advantage of the health co-op as a method of raising the health level of the region. Madison, Wisconsin <—• The Madison Consumers Cooperative reports that the co-op dairy distributed 62,877 points of dairy products in March, a gain of fifty per cent over the quantity handled in the same period last year. The co-op is now using seven trucks and has eleven full time employees. Marshfield, Wisconsin — Representa tives from over 100 cooperatives of var ious types met here May 27 and com pleted organization of the Insurance Co operative Agency, which will place bond, liability and fire insurance for member cooperatives. Large savings are expected to result from cooperative action in in specting and rerating risks and by con solidating purchases in the insurance field. Any bonafide co-op may join by paying a membership fee of $25, of which $15 may be accumulated through patron age dividends. 110 Oakland, California — Spuiicu 0 the example of cooperatives in other tions of the country, a number of SPr cooperatives in Northern California organized the Cooperative \Vh Association. The wholesale will act a buying agent for retail cooperatives $ 3 til it builds sufficient volume to estabr^ its own warehouse. s° The Sebastopol Consumers Coc tive Association has opened a store and service station. THE COOPERATIVE INSTITUTE A training course in Consumer Coon eration, both academic and practical j offered in New York City by The Coop. erative League to acceptable students who wish to prepare themselves for serv ice in this field. The first academic course of eight weeks will extend from October 11 to December 3, 1937. It will be fol- lowed by eight weeks of field work with cooperative societies.. Preliminary re quirements, equal to high school educa tion, are essential. Students with a college degree are preferred. Aptitude tests must be passed. Students desiring to take the course for its cultural value are also ad mitted. The lectures will be held at the New School for Social Research, 66 West 12th Street. Quizzes and discussions will be held at the Cooperative League House. Dormitory facilities will be found at the nearby YMCA and YWCA. The 10th Street cafeteria of Consumers Coopera tive Services offers good food. The courses cover the sociology and economics of cooperation, the history, co operative philosophy and principles, and also the elements of business, bookkeep ing and accounting, as well as methods of cooperative organization and administra tion. Cooperation in action will be studied as found in the various kinds of coopera tive business. The courses will be inten sive and will require the full time of the students. The mornings will be devoted to lectures, and the afternoons and eve nings to research, reading, observing and working with cooperative societies, and in conferences, round table sessions, and writing and presenting notes on studies and observations. The fee for the com plete course is $50. Among the teachers in the Cooperative Consumers' Cooperation are the following: Arthur E. Al- Instluf Mary E. Arnold, Leroy E. Bow- breC Winslow Carlton, Dr. M. M. «^V Tames C. Drury, Herbert E. C° y' Horace M. Kallen, Lionel Per- EvanSWerner E. Regli, Dr. Kingsley la"5- REVIEWS . „„ative Enterprise, by Jacob Baker, Van- CJ/fPress, 266 p.p. $2.00. (Order through The Cooperative League) Pesident Roosevelt as a member of the Inquiry Cooperative Enterprise in Europe, which has "ecently issued, through the government printing ffice a full report of its investigation. Too few people have read this report thorough ly and it is therefore fitting that a popular book on the subject of "Cooperative Enterprise" should ' come from the press written by Mr. Baker. The publisher says that it is "not only a primer but a Baedeker on cooperation." It is an intelli gent, interesting book which should give the un initiated a good description of cooperatives in Europe and also point to American sources of information. The book contains a useful list of books and pamphlets on cooperatives. The author covers, in the first forty-eight pages, a discussion of terms and special characteristics of the cooperative idea; a discussion of the motiva tion behind "cooperative enterprise." These chapters might well be published in a small pamphlet for wide distribution. After reading this Ibook one has no doubt of the inherent sympathy and allegiance of the author to the cooperative movement, and his fairness in fully describing j some of the difficulties the movement is meeting I in Europe and America. Extremists will not like this book. Cooperators who see the new day coming into being over night will be disappointed in the statement that cooper ation in Europe has not harmed private business. Extremists among business leaders will be con vinced from the reading of this book that a very dangerous philosophy is upon us and will fer vently hope to prevent Mr. Baker from continuing 10 hold a responsible position in Washington. Propagandists for and against cooperatives will discover sentences and phrases in this book which they will readily use to advance their own pur poses and ideas. This book should be discussed widely and is so arranged as to be useful for study groups who can use many profitable hours of discussion on its sixteen chapters. Discussing the place of cooperative enterprise m the economic structure of a country, he says ™t 'private enterprise is particularly adapted to those segments of economic activity in which the speculative element is largest." He feels that Government enterprise is requisite in those eco nomic affairs in which public security and con- unuous functioning are imperative," and says that 11 is safe to "conclude that both private and Governmental enterprise have their legitimate Paces, and that cooperative enterprise has an Roberts, Robert L. Smith, Dr. James Pe ter Warbasse and Leslie E. Woodcock. Further information and prospectus can be had from The Cooperative League Institute, Cooperative League House, 167 West 12th Street, New York City. equally legitimate place beside them, though the different scope of each is not susceptible of pre cise limitation." He feels that "cooperative enter prise is in certain respects different from each of the others, and in some respects like each of them," for "government enterprise rests on sovereignty; private enterprise on contract; cooperative enter prise on the continuance of agreement." A year ago Mr. Baker's book would have bee« a best seller, and it is hoped it will not be neg lected as the cooperative movement continues in its steady work after a great burst of publicity and discussion. Herbert E. Evans, Vice-Président Consumer Distribution Corporation. THE SHORTEST WAY HOME Denmarkt The Cooperative Way, by Frederic C. Howe, New York: Coward-McCann, 293 pages, $2.50. Democracy in Denmark, by Josephine Goldmark and Alice G. Brandeis, V/ashington, D. C.: Na tional Home Library Foundation. 165 pages, 25 cents. Denmark: Kingdom of Reason, by Agnes Rothery. New York: The Viking Press. 286 pages, $3. \Vhatever one's conviction about the nature of capitalist decline and the inevitability of a struggle for power with a ruling class, it is a fact that in certain small countries to the north of Europe major trends have in many instances run counter to those in larger Western nations which still have a democratic form of government. Thus farm tenancy in Denmark, as the authors of these books show, has been rapidly reduced during the past three or four decades until today only about five per cent of all Danish farms are operated by tenants. In contrast the percentage of tenant- operated farms in this country went from 28.4 in 1890 to 42.4 in 1930. And in ways that are less susceptible of statis tical proof the trend of life has been in a different direction. There has been little or no evidence of FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. 111 the intense nationalism that has marked not only the dictatorships, but democracies such as Great Britain as well. From the perspective of this new nationalism the fatherland is seen to be a per fected society, possessing all earthly virtues. Criticism of any sort is absolutely forbidden. In contrast a commission created by the Socialist government of Sweden to study the causes of the dwindling birth rate recently made public a re port highly critical of the national economv, point ing out that prosperity, so-called, must be far more widely distributed if it is to be possible for large families to maintain a decent standard of living. Similarly in Denmark, there is a self-criticism that is widely diffused. Mr. Howe makes the ex cellent point that the Danes have constantly sought to broaden the base of their democracy so that the machinery of government becomes in creasingly responsive to the will of the maiority. And he points to the opposite trend in the United States, where he finds a growing distrust of popular expression. This increased responsiveness is the reason, perhaps, whv Danish governments have moved consistently leftward during the past fifteen years. That the industrial revolution took place in Scandinavia considerably later than in the rest of Europe may be one reason why these small coun tries have come through the post-war crisis so well. Certain social techniques, the cooperative movement and trade-union organization, took hold as industrv develooed. The family economy was not so violently dislocated because ways of ad justing it to the new machine production were at hand. But this is not the only reason for the com parative success of the northern democracies. In Mrs. Brandeis' excellent translation of A H u man's study of the Danish folk high school ^ " is the story of a defeated people who re-e - themselves; education extended into every snrj^3 life, the cooperative movement, the trade . political parties. It is hardly an exaqapraf1"0118' say that the folk high school has created l v*" '° a new kind of nationalism, a nationalism th 'S directed toward the well-being of an entire 3' 's rather than beyond national boundaries for P'e quest. c°n- The latest of these books is Agnes "Denmark: Kingdom of Reason." It is an book for the general traveler who is interested only in the cooperatives and social security U°f in the daily life of the people, how thev '' ' I.——— iU_- l^^l- A _ HJ:__ n_i1 _. . t ' ' how they look. As Miss Rothery makes uuul ly clear, the Danes are a more gay and "war1"" hearted oeoole than the Scandinavians to S~ north. The book is illustrated by remarkably f "Viotoqrnnhs made by the author's husband Bar"6 Rogers Pratt. ' y These books seem to me hopeful portents nof of Utopia, a .perfected society, not even perhan of a society that is perfectible, but of the pos! sibility of progress under democracy. Diligently demoTatic processes to alter their society. To be sure it has not been entirely remade, and tbe next T'nronean war may reverse the present direction. But that would not lessen the significance of the demonstration. If the past two decades have orovorl anvthing, it is that human progress is painfully slow. Marquis W. Childs (R°nrinted with the permission of the New Republic). THE PRESS BOOSTS CONSUMERS' COOPERATION Asia, April, 1937, "Why Asia Needs Coopera tives," C. F. Strikland. Boilermakers Tournai. May, "Labor Builds Coop eratives," \Villiam B. Lloyd. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enqine- men's Magazine. May, "Triple Program of the British Labor Movement," George Gibson, re printed from Consumers* Cooperation. Business Week, May 15, "Co-op Sales Grow." "Consumers Gang Up." Canadian Unionist, April, "The Cooperative Movement in Canada." Christian Science Monitor, May 8, "A Teachers' Cooperative," Alice Bryant. Churchman, April 15, "Democracy and Distribu tion," Edward A. Filene. Consumers Guide, April, "Cooperating for Better Foods." Cooperative Merchandiser, May, "President's Consumers Cooperative Report." Eagle Magazine, May, "Spending at a Profit." Federation News, May 15, "The Triple Program of the British Labor Movement," George Gib- son. Machinists Monthly Journal, May, "Labor Builds Cooperatives," William B. Lloyd, Jr. New Leader, May 15, "Cooperation and Social Democracy," Benjamin Ackerman. 112 Our Times, February 11, "Knocking Profits Out of Price." Printers Ink, March 25, "Mr. Filene Spates his Case," Reply of Edward A. Filene to "The Co- operative Scare." Public Welfare News, April, "Cooperation Ad vances in America," Dr. J. P. Warbasse. "Inquiry on Cooperative Enterprise in Europe." "Cooperatives in the Scandinavian Countries." Railway Carmen's Tournai, May, "Labor Builds Cooperatives," William B. Lloyd, Jr. Railway Clerk, May, "Labor Builds Coopera tives," \Villiam B. Lloyd. Social Justice, _May 10, 'Test of U. S. Co-ops is Distribution." Railroad Trainman, May, "Cooperative Progress Abroad," Harold V. Knight. Address of Irwin I. Aaron, "Why I Believe m Consumer Cooperation," reprinted in American Lumberman Association Magazine, February 27. Mississippi Valley Lumberman, February V). The Economist, February 27 and March 27. NEWSPAPERS ,_ „,nfl American Guardian, April 16, "Taking the awa Out of Sickness and Doctoring," Oscar &&* New York Post, April 11, "Cooperative Build Own Lighting Plant Here." Consumers' Cooperation CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE • PLENTY • DEMOCRACY Volume XXIII. No. 8 AUGUST 1937 Ten Cents COOPERATIVE COMMENT ON CURRENT NEWS "The Cooperative Movement is itself a natural agency of peace. The Coopera tives promote peace by promoting coop eration."—Dr. J. P. Warbasse. "The profit system only operates under conditions of scarcity. There is no profit in plenty for everybody."—R. N. Ben jamin. "Cooperation is a spiritual force which throws up great individuals." — C. H. Grinling of Great Britain at the 1934 Congress of the International Coopera tive Alliance. * We would say "Amen" to this an nouncement of a cooperative picnic at Mineola, Kansas, "You won't be bothered to listen to a speech. Just eats and fun and you make the fun." Our observation is that while there are places for speeches, it is doubtful if they are of much conse quence at picnics. it In an article in Common Sense Prof. Harry A. Overstreet quotes the comment °f a friend of his on the rapid organiza tion of consumers' cooperatives through out the Middle West as having this sig nificance: "The declaration of political independence was signed in the East; the declaration of economic independence is being signed in the Middle West." Midland Cooperative Wholesale has a striking sign in its office, which other wholesales as well as retails might well copy: "Both Capitalism and Cooperation Are Built from Patronage Which System Does Your Patronage Help Build?" Producers, whether farmers or labor, cannot have their economic rights unless they are also possessors — individual owners of farms and homes, and coopera tive owners of industries, utilities and fi nance. The people must first solve the problem of just distribution of ownership as producers and consumers before they can solve the problem of just distribution of incomes and jobs. * , Secretary of Agriculture Wallace charts the course of future social progress in these words, "The land beyond the new frontier will be conquered by the B organ to spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people. In TOiuntary association, purchase and produce for their own use the things they need, ublished monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th Street, New York City, 'irai Boïren- Editor. Wallace J. Campbell. Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative Journals and Educational Directors of Cooperative Wholesales and District Leagues. "tered as Second Class Matter, December 19,1S17, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., under the Act of March S, 1S79. Price $1.00 a year. continuous social inventions of men whose hearts are free from bitterness, prejudice, hatred, greed and fear; by men whose hearts are ablaze with the extraordinary beauty of the scientific, artistic and spir itual wealth now before us, if only we reach out confidently together." "Perfectly Legal" The close connection between corpo rate and individual morality is revealed in recent Congressional hearings. Gen eral Motors and U.S. Steel, which are among our largest corporations, were re vealed as employing spies and establish ing arsenals in the way of guns and gas, surely immoral practices. Now Myron C. Taylor, chairman of the U.S. Steel Cor poration and Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., chair man of the General Motors Corporation are revealed as incorporating family resi dences and yachts and deducting ex penses from their income tax statements, likewise surely immoral practices. It mat ters not if all of these corporate and in dividual acts were "perfectly legal" as claimed. The American ideal stretches out beyond legality into the realm of morality. But so long as we permit a business system based on "greed for gain" just so long will we have similar illustrations of both corporations and their officers involved in such immoral or unsocial actions. Common Cause As a concise statement of what is hap pening to farmers, workers and dealers we submit the following, "The technique of industry has reduced the small busi ness man, the average farmer and the in dividual worker to mere cogs in a vast machine over which they have no con trol. We have seen, in consequence, the small business man being crushed under the roller of corporate monopoly, the free-born farmer being reduced to a state of virtual serfdom, and the American worker receiving a smaller and smaller share of the products of his labor." The simple problem is when farmers, workers and dealers will all realize that they are all victims of the present system, with its "chain" stores, farms and factories, and will organize to